Have you seen Emily? *Part 1*
by snitch
Summary: This one's short. Owing to the fact that i'm kinda rusty.But I still think this is interesting..definitely going to be R/H. Anyway please R/R!
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~~*Author's Note*~~  
My its been quite awhile...well, y'all can blame that on my exams and everything...ok, well not everything. I mean, i did have a great time with my friends rehearsing for our play....ok, I'm rambling.  
Anyway, now that i'm back in business, here's another one of my R/H fics   
(obviously...thats all I write anyway..LOL)....it's just basically one of my fluffy-muffy stories..HAHAHA!!!  
Enjoy!  
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It was Harry, Ron and Hermione's summer vacation, a week right before their 6th year was about to   
start.  
The ocean blue sky, which was specked with tufts of fluffy white clouds spread itself over the Burrow, where the Weasley's lived.   
Ron had invited Harry and Hermione a week before, to spend their summer at the burrow.Where they would spend the last days of their summer playing wizard chess or Quidditch, or sometimes even help Fred and George invent all sorts of hilarious new things for their joke shop, and running around every once in awhile trying to test it on Ron, much to his displeasure.  
  
That Tuesday afternoon, as Ron and Harry were engrossed in a game of wizard chess, while Hemione, Ginny, and George were playing with Fred's hair color, a surprised, strangled sort of gasp was heard from the kitchen.   
Everyone dropped what they were doing and hurried over to the kitchen, anxious to know what could make Mrs.Weasley react that way. As the group reached the kitchen, they found Mrs.Weasley happily reading a long roll of parchment, while an unfamiliar barn owl was hopping up and down, like it was on springs, on top of the wooden table.  
  
"Is everything ok, Mrs. Weasley?" asked Hermione worriedly.  
  
Mrs.Weasley looked up from her letter and only then did she seem to notice the crowd of curious and anxious looking teenagers crowding the kitchen entrance.  
  
"Oh yes, everything's fine, dear." said Mrs.Weasley reassuringly, her happy grin permanently fixed on to her face.  
  
" I just got a letter from my sister," explained Mrs.Weasley, moving the group along to the living room,   
" You remember your aunt Rebecca don't you?" she said looking at Fred and George.   
The twins nodded quietly, although Harry thought they looked like they didn't have a clue as to who aunt Rebecca was, but Mrs.Weasley didn't notice and continued explaining the contents of her sisters letter in a very excited tone,   
  
" Well, I haven't seen her in...oh, who know's how long ! I think the last time she came for a visit, was when Ronald was still a baby. Well anyway, she says she'll be coming for a visit tomorrow, with her daughter-"   
  
At this all four of the Weasley children's heads shot up and opened their mouths to ask questions.   
Ginny was the fastest, and she hurriedly began,  
  
" We have a cousin? A girl? How old is she mum ?"   
  
Mrs. Weasley smiled at her daughter and said cooly,  
  
" Of course you do! And Rebecca says she's going to bring along her 'daughter', so your cousin is obviously a girl, but...oh my, she didn't say how old she was. Just her name: Emily."  
  
"Perfect! We could give her one of our lollipops !" exclaimed Fred, earning himself a glare from his mother,  
  
"Oh, no you don't ! You will not try any of your funny business on Emily! The poor girl needn't think her cousins are a bunch of pranksters!"  
  
And with that Mrs.Weasley marched back into the kitchen in a huff.  
  
"Ah.. but we ARE pranksters.." snickered Fred, as soon as their mother was out of sight.   
  
Fred stood up with George, and proceeded to climb the rickety stairs which lead to their room on the second floor, debating with each other which to give Emily first. A canary cream or a stickly-pop. Either way, everyone was sure it would earn the twins a very very long telling-off from Mrs.Weasley.  
Hermione and Harry, who were listening quietly to Mrs.Weasley explain about aunt Rebecca and Emily,turned their heads to Ron, who was sitting beside Ginny,opposite them.  
  
" Do you know anything about your cousin, Emily, I mean?" asked Harry.  
Ron shook his head and shrugged.  
  
" I never knew we had a cousin...I knew about aunt Rebecca, but I don't think I've ever heard or met Emily."   
said Ron.  
  
" I never even knew about aunt Rebecca! How come you never told me about her, Ron? " asked Ginny,  
  
" Well, the last time she came to visit was when I was four...I think, and you were only three then...I really don't remember much about her, except that she loved to sing. Used to sing me to sleep a lot, but thats about it. " said Ron.  
  
"Oh, I see..I wonder what Emily's like...I can't wait to meet her." said Ginny, leaning back into her chair.  
  
"Well, we'll meet your aunt and cousin soon enough...Why don't we play some Gobstones for now,then we'll go help your mother set the table later on for dinner." suggested Hermione.  
  
Ron stared at Hermione with a look of genuine shock on his face.  
  
"What?" asked Hermione, catching Ron's astonished look.  
  
" Your not going to tell us to go do our homework, or read about Wendolin the weird, or to start spending half our of our lives researching things for spew !?"  
  
"Its S.P.E.W! And no, I won't tell you to do that. But I could tell you to go look up the word "annoying", Ron." said Hermione irritably, as she stood up to go get the Gobstones set, on the other side of the room.  
  
Ron looked down and muttered, "Touchy..."  
  
" I heard that." called Hermione over her shoulder, a few feet away.  
Harry and Ginny looked at each other and exchanged amused grins.  
  
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Disclaimer: I own nothing but my soul....no wait, I think I already gave that to a friend who was trying to blackmail me...don't ask.  
  
A/N : Thats it for now...The story line for this fic isn't really that clear to me yet.But I thought I'd write it down anyway, since I won't have time to write anymore stories after this week. Yup! EXAMS again! I swear...my school just loves to torture us with exams...can't they just torture us with something else???? Say...14 hours of hard labor reading good R/H fics??  
Oh and by the way, the romance part will be more apparent in the next part. When Emily show's up...and I KNOW you'll just *LOVE* Emily...heehee...( I'm giving away the storyline....darn!)  
Anyway, please review and tell me what you think!   
And, can anyone tell me how to post stories in HTML?? 


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~*Author's Note*~

Thanks soooo much to all those who've reviewed the first part!! *starts doing a happy dance* Wow !, I didn't think I'd get that kind of reaction from all you guys...Well, its nice to be writing fics again, even though I should really start preparing for my exams....oh well, I just couldn't resist ;) Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. Have you ever heard of a Saint Tinkerbell? Well there is such a person. And she is known for teaching a very strange and odd fic author called Snitch, exactly how to post stories in HTML. So, anyway, if your reading this Tinkerbell, THANKS!! 

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The next day, as the the warm sunlight slowly washed Ron's tiny room in light shades of yellow, Harry 

groggily opened his eyes to see a fully dressed Fred and George push open the door to the room as quietly as 

they could, and sneak in on tiptoe, carefully avoiding the creaky floorboards.

Harry rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed.

" What are you doing in here?" asked Harry drowsily.

This seemed to startle the twins and both of them whirled around to face Harry.

"Sssshhh! Not so loud, Harry!" whispered Fred urgently, as he crept closer to the foot of Harry's bed, so that 

Harry could hear what he was saying.

" We're going to try our new potion on Ron," explained Fred, while George brandished a small vial whose 

contents seemed to be frothing pink inside.

Harry raised an eyebrow as he saw the strange looking potion.

"What's it supposed to do?" 

"We don't know yet....although we're sure its going to do _something._" answered Fred dismissively, obviously

not at all worried by the fact that one drop of the potion on Ron could possibly make his ears shrivel up, or 

face turn orange, or who knows what.

Harry turned his head to Ron's bed, where Ron was sleeping blissfully, occasionally muttering things like,

"...no...not wonky-faint....its...wronsky-feint..." or, 

"....the goblin rebellion...was...instigated by...Neville...Longbottom.....".

Harry couldn't help feeling sorry for his best friend as he watched, while Fred and George cautiously

walked up to Ron's bed side and uncorked the small vial. The frothy pink liquid wizzed and bubbled at once, 

and Harry saw George tip over two drops of the potion over Ron's fiery red hair. Nothing happened at first, 

which made the twins look very much put out, when all of a sudden Ron's hair suddenly started to grow right 

in front of their eyes, and not only did it grow long, it was now a rich shade of electric blue.

The twins couldn't contain their laughter anymore, and fell to the floor laughing hysterically.

Ron woke up with a start, only to find his brothers rolling around on the floor clutching their stomachs, while 

his best friend was snickering on the other side of the room.

"Whats going on?" he asked, and when he didn't get an answer,

Ron instinctively ran his hand through his hair, and to his horror, found that his hair went down to the back

of his head far more than he was used to.Ron scrambled to the mirror, and at once let out a strangled cry,

" Ahhh! What did you do to me?? My- my...hair!! Its blue! and its long! "

Fred and George were wheezing on the floor for air from laughing so hard, and didn't seem to notice that 

their younger brother was on the verge of a nervous breakdown at the sight of his reflection in the mirror.

Harry got up and walked over to Ron (carefully trying not to step on the twins), and said with the most serious

expression and tone of voice that he could muster,

" It really doesn't look that bad....".

*A few haircuts and incantations later*

"Oh stop fussing, Ron." said Hermione, "You'll just have to wait it out. See, the color's already starting to fade!"

"Yeah, but my hair's still long...and mum's already tried cutting it..but it just keeps on growing ! I don't believe 

this, I look like-like, some sort of outlaw !" said Ron warily.

At that moment, Ginny came in, and flopped down beside Hermione.

"Well, actually you _do_ look kind of good with long hair..." said Ginny, teasingly. Ron rolled his eyes at his 

sister,but Ginny ignored him, and continued, 

"Well, don't you think so, Hermione?" said Ginny, nudging Hermione in the side. 

Hermione turned a light shade of pink, but managed to mumble,

"...er..I guess so."

"Anyway, mum, says, Aunt Rebecca and Emily will be here any minute now..."

"Oh, perfect. Now she'll think I'm some kind of delinquent or something." moaned Ron.

"Don't worry, we'll just explain to her everything that happened this morning." encouraged Harry.

A few minutes later, Harry looked up from his conversation with Ron, just in time to see the fire in the kitchen 

fireplace rise, and turn green. Then they watched as Mrs.Weasley swish passed them, muttering,

"Their here, their here!".

As they watched the emerald green flames die down, they saw a dainty woman in light blue robes 

with brownish hair walk into the kitchen through the flames.

She had a healthy looking baby, who was gigling and smiling one of those playful baby smiles at 

Mrs.Weasley,in her arms.

"Rebecca! Its so nice to see you! Come in, come in." squealed Mrs.Weasley with delight, 

"Its nice to see you too! How have you been? Oh, its been so long since I've been to the Burrow! Where's 

Arthur, and the children? I can't wait to see them!" gushed Aunt Rebecca.

"The children? Why, Ronald and Ginny are in the living room with their friends, and the twins are outside."

said Mrs.Weasley. She opened the window and called out to Fred and George,

"Your Aunt Rebecca is here! Hurry up and come inside!"

Then she led Rebecca to the living room, where Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were sitting, 

"Rebecca, you remember Ronald. He was still a baby, when you last visited-"

" Yes, I remember Ron. You've grown up to be quite a handsome young man now, I see." said Aunt Rebecca, 

eyeing Ron's hair, whose color and length had decreased noticeably. She gave him a warm smile, which 

made Ron brighten up up a little.

"Ah..and you must be Ginny! My, you look pretty! " said Aunt Rebecca beaming at Ginny. Ginny smiled back 

at her Aunt. Just then the back door was heard slamming shut, and Fred and George came marching in, not 

bothering to brush off the flecks of dirt they had on their clothes, which they got from degnoming the garden 

since that morning.

" Aunt Rebecca!" they chorused, bowing in front of her.

The cuddly baby in Aunt Rebecca's arms giggled even more, and grinned a lopsided baby grin at the twins 

antics.

" Ah, if it isn't you two mischief makers...Now, tell me. Which poor fellow has had the honor of being your

latest victim?" 

The twins grinned at their Aunt, while Mrs.Weasley gave them a disapproving look.

" And, Rebecca, these are Ronald's friends from Hogwarts. Their staying with us for the summer, until school 

starts." continued Mrs.Weasley, motioning towards Harry and Hermione.

" I'm Hermione Granger..Its nice to finally meet you." said Hermione politely.

" And I'm Harry...Potter." Harry wasn't sure how Aunt Rebecca would react so he purposely said his last name 

quietly, and it seemed to work as Aunt Rebecca didn't act surprised at all, but instead gave him and Hermione 

a very friendly smile.

" All of you look wonderful! Its such a nice thing to be back here.But ,before anything else, I'd like you 

to meet your cousin."

She shifted the baby, who was aimlessly waving its hand at everyone,in her arms and said,

" Ron, Ginny, Fred and George. This is your cousin Emily."

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Disclaimer: I own nothing!

A/N: Sorry, I lied, there really isn't any romance in this part....but hey, you guys had to know who Emily was ;)

And I PROMISE, I'll put in loads of romance in the next part....Trust me! 

PLease REVIEW!!!


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~*Author's Note*~

Ooh, I see I was able to surprise you guys, by making Emily a baby! Hehehe, well, thats exactly how I wanted it to be... :) I think this story's going to be a very long one, probably longer than ACTR, even though I said this was just another one of my fluffy muffy fics...oh well, I don't really know.I'm just sort of making the story as I go along..just like what I always do..*sighs* (I should really oraganize my stories...).Anyway, this is long.So I'll let you guys read my fic now. Enjoy!

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Everyone in the room stared at the baby in aunt Rebecca's arms. None of them said anything for a few 

moments, for all of them were quite surprised by the announcement. 

" That's Emily?" asked Ginny in a confused tone. Aunt Rebecca smiled and nodded in Ginny's direction.

Ginny and Ron looked at each other. Aunt Rebecca seemed to have noticed the childrens confusion, and 

quickly caught on.

" Oh! I suppose you thought Emily would be your age! Oh dear...I guess I should have written down Emily's

age in my letter, but I was so excited, I completely forgot! I'm sorry, but I'm afraid Emily won't be able to 

do much with you...after all she is only 8 months old."

"Thats okay, auntie. We're all still very glad you brought her along with you anyway!" said Ginny cheerfully. 

Emily sat in her mother's arms totally oblivious to the discussion that was taking place between her relatives, 

around her, and Harry noticed that she kept grinning and waving her tiny hand in his and Ron's direction.

" Well. Now that that's settled, why don't we have a cup of tea in the kitchen Rebecca? You could leave Emily 

here, with the children. I'm sure they can handle Emily for a few hours." suggested Mrs. Weasley.

" Yes, I'd love that! " Replied Aunt Rebecca, but then her expression darkened and she continued seriously,

"There are some things I'd like to talk to you and Arthur about....it concerns you-know-who..."

Mrs.Weasley's face darkened considerably after hearing Voldemort's name, while Harry felt a sick feeling 

wash over him.

" I see. Well, you can tell me all about that over tea," said Mrs.Weasley, then she spoke up again in a brighter 

tone, " Come here, George. Why don't you and Fred take care of Emily while we're in the kitchen."

George walked over, looking quite apprehensive at having to take care of Emily, when he be upstairs 

with Fred practicing how to duel or polishing their broomsticks. But Aunt Rebecca and Mrs.Weasley didn't 

notice at all, and as soon as George stood in front of Aunt Rebecca, she told George to hold out his arms and 

gently handed Emily over to George. Emily fell silent for a few moment, apparently not used to being held by 

anyone other than her mother, but then slowly started to smile up at George and tug at the collar of his shirt.

" Alright then, we'll be in the kitchen, if you have any problems with her just call." 

" And remember George, Fred. No funny business." said Mrs.Weasley sternly and with that led her sister to the

kitchen, where she started bustling aroung, preparing tea and sandwiches.

George looked down at the cuddly in his baby in his arms.

" Hello there Emily...its a pleasure to meet you..." he said in a sickeningly sweet voice. Fred walked over 

beside George and began tickling Emily in the tummy, making her wave her hands around wildly.

" I say,George..do you think she'd like a lollipop?" 

"Fred!!" scolded everyone.

*An hour later*

An hour passed and Mrs.Weasley and Aunt Rebecca were still in the kitchen, discussing all sorts of matters in 

low and serious voices. Meanwhile in the living room, George was playing wizard chess with Harry while 

Fred was playing with Emily on his lap. Ginny and Hermione were trying to finish what was left of their 

homework, and Ron, who had been standing in front of the mirror for the past thirty minutes was trying to tie

his hair into a ponytail, but was failing miserably, since, even though his hair was still longer than normal, it 

was now too short to tie up.

"Checkmate. Ha! I win again, Harry, you owe me now!" piped George.

" Oh no...not again..." sighed Harry.

Harry turned his head to look out the window. The weather was fine and every now and then a strong cool 

breeze would enter through the window, and make the pages of Hermione's thick book flutter up and down.

" Hey, what do you say, we go out and play some Quidditch?" asked George.

Harry hadn't played Quidditch in quite a while, and was all for George's idea. Fred also like this idea and was

nodding his head fervently. Hermione on the other hand didn't like the sound of the idea very much,

"But your mother said your in charge of Emily! What if they come out now, and see that your not here?"

"Don't worry..we'll be quick. And besides, Emily's a dear, I'm sure you guys won't have any trouble taking

care of her. Just play with her and keep her happy, thats all." said Fred.

"Yeah, and I haven't played Quidditch for ages, I really need to practice Hermione..." added Harry.

Hermione still didn't look satisfied, but agreed to let the twins and Harry go outside, anyway, and took Emily

from Fred.

" Coming Ron?" asked Harry, as he got up from the table. Ron however didn't seem to hear Harry as he was

staring at Hermione, who was pacing around the room, with Emily in her arms.

"Don't bother...," whispered George, "I think it'd do him good to stay here.." and he jerked his head at

Hermione. Harry caught on, and grinned.

Fred,George and Harry waved goodbye, shortly after taking out their brooms, and strode outside.

Ginny, sat in her chair by the table, screwing up her head, trying to remember the last ingredient to a shrinking

potion.Finally, after 5 minutes of reading her notes over and over again, to no avail, she gave up. She sighed

and decided to do the next best thing: ask Hermione. Ginny opened her mouth, and was just about to call out

Hermione's name when she noticed that Hermione herself was unsuccessfully trying to rock Emily to sleep.

Ginny watched silently for awhile, and had to stifle a laugh when Emily tugged at Hermione's hair, and just 

laughed a gurgly bubbly sort of laugh, causing to Hermione to sigh in exasperation.

Hermione turned around and caught sight of Ginny grinning at her, while Ron was staring at her like she had 

a halo hanging over her head.

" I don't know what to do!" said Hermione, " She should be tired by now, but she just doesn't want to go to 

sleep!" 

Ginny thought for a moment, then slowly said, "Hm..maybe you could try singing her to sleep."

At this, Hermione looked like she was told to spend the rest of her life up in professor Trelawney's tower.

" Sing? I don't know how to sing, let a alone a decent lullaby!" 

Ron looked up at Hermione and grinned slyly at her,

" Wow, thats the third time I've heard you say 'I don't know' in two days, Hermione. Not bad."

Hermione shot Ron a glare, but Ron continued grinning to himself and didn't notice at all.

" Oh, I know. I think I saw an old song book upstairs in the attic. I'll go get it, maybe it has some lullabies, 

that you could sing."

said Ginny thoughtfully and she stood up and began to climb the winding stairs up to the attic on the third 

floor. Ron and Hermione were left alone in the living room, listening to Ginny's footsteps slowly fade into soft 

thumps.

Ron glanced up from his seat to steal a look at Hermione. She really did look pretty, he thought, standing 

there with her long brown hair flowing down past her shoulders, patiently returning Emily's mischievous smile.

Ron must have been staring at Hermione longer than he had intended to, for when Hermione turned to face

him, their eyes met, and Hermione asked,

" Is there something wrong ?" 

Ron could feel his face burn up, and mumbled the first thing that popped up in his mind,

" Er-...you, um, just looked very pretty standing there, fussing over Emily..."

It was Hermione's turn to go red this time but managed not to sound too happy as she said "Thanks...".

At that moment a loud crashing sound followed by a a few smaller bangs was heard coming from the third 

floor, startling Hermione and frightening Emily.

" That was probably Ginny...I bet she just had a bit of a run in with the old ghoul upstairs..." said Ron, like 

it wasn't anything new. But unfortunately Emily wasn't too happy about loud crashes coming from above her,

and she began to cry. Ron always thought that it was a horrible thing to see a baby, that was perfectly happy 

a few seconds before, break down into tears and start crying its heart out in front of you, but thats exactly 

what happened next.

Hermione tried to calm Emily down by patting her head and talking to her in a soothing voice, but this didn't 

seem to help, as big tear drops began rolling down her rosy cheeks.

" No, no, no...don't cry...it was nothing...just that silly ghoul upstairs..." said Hermione almost desperately.

Hermione had absolutely no idea what to do as Emily just continued crying into her shoulder, when to her 

surprise Ron walked up to her and said,

"Here, hand her over...",

then he scooped up Emily into his arms, and made her head lean over his shoulder. Then, as Hermione 

watched in disbelief Ron began to sing softly over Emily's crying. He didn't have a perfect voice but it was 

clear and loud enough to calm Emily down. Hermione sat down on the chair by the window as Ron patted

Emily's back and continued singing to her.

_Hush, little baby, don't say a word,_

_Papa's going to buy you a mockingbird._

_And if that mockingbird don't sing,_

_Papa's going to buy you a diamond ring._

_And if that diamond ring turns brass,_

_Papa's going to buy you a looking glass..._

Ginny came down the stairs, grumbling under her breath about how much she'd love to get back at the old 

ghoul in the attic, for making fun of her and throwing things at her. She wearily climbed down the stairs 

when she heard a voice singing a lullaby...it definitely wasn't Hermione's voice, and she doubted the fact that 

it could be Ron singing...still, there was a possiblity.

Ginny padded down the stairs and saw one of those heart warming scenes that just make you want to sigh 

and go 'Aw..', for there, in the middle of the room was Ron slowly pacing around, with Emily fast asleep on 

his shoulder, humming a lullaby,while Hermione sat by the window, watching him with a dazed expression 

on her face. Fred, George and Harry had also just arrived from a lengthy game of Quidditch near the woods,

and were standing by the door, grinning from ear to ear at Ron.

That night during dinner, Mr.Weasley called out to everyone,

" Now, now, children, please listen. You all know how dangerous it is these days, what with you-know-who

running loose...that your aunt Rebecca has asked me if she could leave Emily with us for a while...and I said

yes.Your mother and I will be take care of her once you go back to school, but in the meantime I'd like all of 

you to help out, as much as you can." 

" I hope you don't mind looking after her..." said Aunt Rebecca in a worried tone of voice, but her worries 

were put aside when Fred piped up saying,

" Mind? oh, we don't mind at all! We'd love to take care of her...and Ron seems to have a knack for babies..."

Ron looked awfully embarassed, but smiled a little when he saw that Hermione was beaming proudly at him, 

while Harry gave him a grin.

" I won't be leaving her here for long...just until we move in into a safer place." continued aunt Rebecca.

Everyone nodded, but nothing more was said of the matter as a sleeping Emily shifted in her makeshift

crib, and everybody didn't want to wake her up with there loud chatter.

"Ron, wait!" called Hermione, as she climbed after Ron, who was going up the stairs.Ron whirled around at 

once, and found himself face to face and very close to Hermione.

" What is it?" he asked slowly,

" I just wanted to thank you...," replied Hermione unable to stop herself from going red all over, from being 

so close.

"Thank me? for what?" 

" Oh, you know. For helping me with Emily this afternoon...I didn't know you were that good with babies!"

Ron grinned and flashed Hermione a teasing grin,

" Well, its one of those hidden talents that bookworms, like _you_, don't find as interesting or as useful as say..

I dunno, flobberworms or skrewts."

" I don't find either of those silly things interesting or useful ! I just like to know the little details,thats why I 

read up on them so much!" protested Hermione.

" Yeah, yeah. I believe you....after all, there can't be anything as _detailed_ as a flobberworm..." smirked Ron

"Oh, your impossible!" and with that Hermione stompped back down to the second landing and was about 

to open the door to Ginny's room, when Ron called her back,

"Hermione! "

Hermione looked up to see Ron grinning at her,

"You did look good holding Emily..." 

And he dissappeared up to his own room, where Harry was waiting to endlessly tease Ron about Hermione.

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Now before I start begging for reviews, there are just a few more things I'd like to say to a couple of people.**To B**: Oops, embarassing mistake that was...It _is _" They're here, they're here!".Thanks very much for pointing that out ;). **To isolemnlysweariamup2nogood: **Your looong reviews are thoroughly appreciated (^-^), although I have to admit, your last review made me laugh. I mean, you made Emily sound like she came straight from the movie "Amityville" or "Childsplay"..._LOL._ Well, either way, I still love the reviews you always give me.**To red rum: **Is it just me,or does your name say Murder when you read it backwards...I dunno, I just had to get that out. Cool name though**. To everyone else: Thank you sooo much for reviewing! **


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~*Author's Note*~  
I'm terribly sorry for the looong wait.But don't worry I'll try and make it up with this part. ;)  
And, thanks again to everyone who's reviewed parts 1 to 3 ! You do not know how happy you guys make me! Anyway, here we go!  
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Two days passed since Emily arrived at the Burrow.  
Aunt Rebecca had already left the Weasley's to go back to her own home, leaving everyone quite busy, looking after Emily.  
At first, getting used to changing diapers and feeding Emily was rather hard, since none of the Weasley's (except Mrs.Weasley,of course), or Harry and Hermione, had ever taken care of a baby before.  
Thus, every job was done rather awkwardly.   
But there really is something about taking care of a smiling baby that makes people a little bit more cheerful and less grouchy about things, and Harry found that as each hour passed of having Emily with them in the Burrow, everyone seemed to be grinning or smiling a lot more.  
Although, there were still some minor squabbles and arguments that would break out every once in a while, most of which were due to Ron and Hermione's tempers.  
And as Harry looked up from polishing his firebolt, he could see that Ron and Hermione were arguing (again), a little bit more heatedly than usual, on the other side of the room  
  
"What are they arguing about now?" Harry asked Ginny, who was seating close by reading a book.  
  
"Oh the usual...," answered Ginny, as she put her book down, "I think they're arguing about which bowl to use for Emily's food."  
  
"Which bowl to use?" repeated Harry incredulously, while Ginny smiled,"don't they have anything better to argue about?"  
  
"Oh let them be Harry," said Ginny, "they look awfully cute when they argue about silly things, and besides its really funny."   
  
"Well...that is true...," concluded Harry,grinning, as he turned his head to the corner where Ron and Hermione were having their disagreements, and listened amusedly to what they were saying.  
  
"Why did you put her food in that one!?" said Ron, pointing to the pink bowl with the cute dragon patterns on it.  
  
"And what exactly is wrong with this one?" said Hermione, looking annoyed.  
  
"Its just so..so...pink!" announced Ron, while Hermione looked like she was torn between laughing or getting angry with him.  
  
"I'm glad to see that you know your colors,Ron." said Hermione trying to frown.  
  
Harry and Ginny who were still watching the two couldn't help but hide their laughter, and at that very same moment, Fred and George came bounding down the stairs.  
  
"What's going on?" asked Fred, looking around.  
  
"Ron and Hermione were just having their daily argument, about bowls." explained Harry automatically,  
  
"Really? Those two, again? Well then move over! We want to watch them too!" exclaimed George, and he and Fred squished themselves into Harry's chair knocking him out of it. Harry sent the twins a glare, but was easily dismissed by the twins as they stared intently at Ron and Hermione.  
  
"I still say it should you should use this blue one," came Ron's voice,  
  
"But that's for boys, Ron! And Emily's a girl!" said Hermione, eyeing the blue bowl with patterns of gold snitches all around it, that Ron was holding up in front of her.  
  
"Who says this is only for boys? Its definitely better than that pink one of yours...!"  
  
"Excuse me? This pink one looks a whole lot better than that plain blue one!"  
  
"Oh, so thats what you think eh? Well, if you don't know, Emily happens to like the color blue!"  
  
"No, she does not!"  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"How do YOU know?"  
  
Ron and Hermione's argument went on and on like this for a record of twenty minutes.  
Fred and George, who were listening to every word of their argument turned to face Harry and Ginny, and whispered,  
  
"I think we should all treasure this moment..."   
  
"Why?" asked Harry, barely being able to hear George's whisper over all the snapping and sniping Ron and Hermione were doing.  
  
"Don't you see?," explained Fred, in a very misty voice, which reminded Harry of professor Trelawney,  
"We are all witnessing a very rare sight, at this very moment....for this could possibly be a glimpse into their future!"  
  
Harry and Ginny burst out laughing,  
  
"So thats how, it'd be like if they got married!" said Ginny laughing, "Its scary to think that they're already acting like an old married couple!"  
  
Harry couldn't have said it better, and laughed along while they watched Ron and Hermione argue even more, completely oblivious to the fact that four people were laughing and snickering all the way at every word they said.  
  
~*~  
An hour later,after being called down by Mrs.Weasley for dinner, Harry entered the kitchen with Hermione.  
  
"Where's Ron?" said Harry grinning, as he recalled the argument Ron and Hermione had an hour before.  
  
"He's feeding Emily tonight in the living room." answered Hermione flatly.  
  
Ron and Hermoine's argument had come to an end when both of them were arguing so loudly that Emily woke up from her sleep and started crying incessantly.Mrs.Weasley came running into the living room after that, and scolded them for waking Emily up and since then both Ron and Hermione were   
walking around the house in a rather bad mood, desperately ignoring each other.  
And as for which bowl they were going to use to put Emily's baby food in, it was decided, by Fred, that they should just use a completely different one to avoid any more warfare.  
  
"Ginny...hurry up now, dinner's about to start..." called Mrs.Weasley again and Ginny thumped down the stairs, taking her seat beside Hermione.  
  
"Your father says he's going to be late tonight...so I guess we should just eat ahead, before the food gets cold. How is Ron doing with Emily?" inquired Mrs.Weasley, as she ladled everyone some piping hot soup.  
  
"Oh,he looked like he was doing a good job of feeding her.." said Ginny.  
  
Mrs.Weasley looked quite pleased with this and everyone began to eat their dinner, discussing all sorts of things, like what they would do once school started, or what they would get once they were able to go to Hogsmeade....  
Fred and George who had already graduated, were now apprenticing at Zonko's, trying to learn the tricks of the trade from the owner himself; Zurich Zonko.  
And Harry remembered the time Fred and George came back from Zonko's almost a week ago happily grinning.And when he asked what happened they told him everything that happened while they were with Mr.Zonko.  
  
"-the first thing he did after we introduced ourselves was gave us shrinking tea...of course,we didn't know it was shrinking tea, so when we drank it, and began shrinking, we were thinking how big Mr.Zonko's table was getting and how small our voices seemed to be..."  
  
After everyone had eaten their fill of Mrs.Weasley's excellent cooking, and had cleaned up the table, they left Mrs.Weasley in the kitchen,while they wandered into the living room, where Ron was just about to clean up after Emily.  
  
"Aren't you done yet?" said Fred yawning,  
  
"No...Emily didn't really like banana, so she decided to spill it all over herself...." said Ron, wiping Emily's mouth, as she grinned at him and tried to playfully swat away the cloth.  
  
Hermione,who was sitting next to Ginny whispered to her quietly,  
  
"You know, I've never seen Ron that patient with anybody...If he were the same Ron I knew,I'd think he'd be all angry by now.But he seems to be more caring and patient when he's with Emily don't you think?"  
  
"Well..come to think of it,that is true. Although Ron was caring even before...," whispered Ginny back.  
  
Hermione raised her eye-brows, at Ginny.  
  
"Its true! When we were small, and I had this terrible fever, and mum and dad had to go off with Fred and George to get their stuff from Diagon alley, Ron took care of me all day long, till they got back.He'd stay in my room and watch me sleep and check my temperature and all...really, by the way he took care of me, you'd think he was the one with a fever."  
  
Hermione glanced sideways to where Ron was now laughing along with Emily,and for a moment caught his eye. Both of them quickly turned away,although this time both of them didn't look as peeved with each other as before.  
Then, just as Harry was about to stand up and help Ron clear up, a flash of bright light flooded the entire room with a loud BOOM, and Harry stumbled over with one hand to his scar.  
  
"Let go of her!" bellowed a voice a few paces away from Harry,  
  
"Stay away boy...," boomed back a thick voice.  
  
The next thing Harry knew, was that the the entire room was spinning before him and that the bright light had vanished instantly, and he along with the others, were lying on the floor, as though hit by a stunning charm..Harry wobbled up on his feet and shook the closest person to him on the floor.  
  
"George, George...wake up.Are you alright?"   
  
"Ugh...yeah.." said George sitting up and rubbing his head, "What happened?"   
  
"I dunno...," said Harry walking to Hermione and managing to shake her awake,then doing the same with Ginny and Fred.   
  
Finally, when everyone was on their feet, they looked around the room,and to their horror saw that Emily was   
no longer in her chair,while Ron was lying by an open window with blood steadily trickling down the side of his face.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~~~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~  
  
Disclaimer: I own noooooooooooooothing!!!!  
A/N: Would you believe? that was actually my first feeble attempt at a cliffhanger.And YES! I actually made *someone* hurt Ron bad enough to make him bleed.....ooh, I never thought I'd see the day I'd write a fic like that! Well anyway, this was the easiest part to write so far, and I sincerely hope you enjoyed it...;)   
And! three cheers to *isolemnlysweariamup2nogood*, for figuring out part of the plot.  
My, you know how my mind works now don't you?? Oh and Ron's voice is all yours! (LOL).  
Thanks for everything! :)  
And to everyone else, thank soo much for reading my stories this far.  
Cheers to all of you! 


	5. Default Chapter Title

~*Author's Note*~  
Hm..I wonder what I'll do in this part....maybe I'll put Ron in a coma or something..no that wouldn't be  
nice, and I don't think Hermione would be happy about that..;)  
See, this is the good thing about making up a story as you go along, there's just so MANY possibilities.  
Though, all my friends keep telling me I should plan and write an outline of my stories...well,I refuse to succumb to them,so there! MWAHAHAHAHAH!! *ahem*.  
Here's the next part. Enjoy!  
  
~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
"Ron!" cried everyone,as they rushed to his side.  
Harry could see a long bloody gash right above Ron's eyebrow, from which streaks of blood ran down, making Ron's face look awfully pale and white.  
  
"George, go and see if mum's ok- she's in the kitchen,then bring her here at once, quick!" ordered Fred,in a very serious tone of voice,while he kneeled over Ron and turned him over so that his face was up.  
George rushed to the kitchen,where they heard him shake awake Mrs.Weasley, for it seemed that she too had passed out on the kitchen floor.  
  
"Ginny, go and get some towels and bandages...a lot of them." said Fred, and Ginny,who despite looking quite shooked up, hurried off up the stairs.   
  
"Is he...alive?" asked Harry anxiously,while Hermione stood beside him looking sick with shock and worry.  
  
"Yes,he is...But he got a really nasty bash on the head...probably thrown into the wall or something." said Fred looking around the room, then back down at Ron.  
  
Harry had never seen Fred so serious before, and to be honest, Harry thought Fred looked like a completely different person.  
Then they saw George half supporting and half dragging Mrs.Weasley in to the living room.  
Mrs.Weasley also looked pale and dazed but immediately snapped up when she saw her youngest son lying on the floor with a horrific gash on his head.  
  
"Oh, Ron!"   
  
Mrs.Weasley rushed over and knelt down.She held Ron up in her arms,brushing away his hair and carefully examining the wound, muttering   
"Oh dear, oh dear...," all the while.  
  
After a few more minutes Ginny came tearing down the stairs with an armful of towels and bandages.  
She handed the load to her mother, and Mrs.Weasley, after having checked Ron's pulse and examined the wound, hurriedly announced that they would have to move Ron before they could clean him up.  
Everyone backed away a few steps and Mrs.Weasley pulled out her wand and muttered a floating spell.  
Ron's limp body floated upwards and Mrs.Weasley carefully directed him,with her wand to the sofa.  
  
"Will he be alright?" asked Hermione hoarsely, as they followed Mrs.Weasley and Ron to the sofa.  
  
"I don't know dear...I don't know."  
  
As soon as Ron's body was laid down, Mrs.Weasley began ordering everybody around,  
  
"Fred,George, go owl your father, and tell him to come home as quickly as he can- Harry,take these towels and soak them in warm water, and Hermione,try and clean up that awful cut as best as you can,then wipe around it again with the towels.I'm going to go look up some medical charms.Ginny,you come with me."  
  
Everybody bustled off to take on the task that was set before them, and Harry grabbed a bunch of towels and a basin and walked off to the kitchen, casting a quick look behind him,in time to see Hermione bend over Ron and wipe his face clean of blood.  
  
~*~  
"-goodness gracious...and he just disappeared with Emily?" asked Mr.Weasley after listening to Fred and George explain to him what had happened earlier.  
  
Mr.Weasley had arrived within an hour,after receiving Fred and George's owl, with a group of other ministry members, two of whom, were men who wore long black flowing robes.  
These men, were (as Harry would later know) were the untouchables in their uniform, and were running their eye over every nook and cranny of the living room, searching for clues.  
Meanwhile, Ginny and Hermione were being questioned in a corner by another Ministry member who kept mumbling to himself.And Harry saw that this increasingly annoyed Hermione, and he secretly thought that this was because she wanted to attend to Ron rather than be stuck in a corner, and be questioned.  
On the other hand, Ginny looked worn out, and Harry reminded himself to, perhaps, make some hot chocolate for her later on.  
  
"Harry,Harry! could you come here for a moment?" came Mr.Weasley's voice.  
  
Harry put down the basin in his hand and walked over to the other end of the room,where he saw Mr.Weasley talking to one of the untouchables.  
  
"Harry, this is Mr.Bencroft." said Mr.Weasley, gesturing towards a tall, grim looking man, standing quite stiffly, on his left side.  
Bencroft tipped his head slightly, like when one would do when they were wearing a hat, and Harry got a glimpse of the man's eyes.They were cool and steely gray, and seemed to have absolutely no warmth at all.  
This made Harry feel most uncomfortable, but never the less, Harry stood still,and turned to Mr.Weasley.  
  
"Harry, I'd like to ask you something...about Emily's kidnapper." began Mr.Weasley, and Harry knew at once what he was going to ask...  
  
"Do you think...it was...you-know-who?"  
  
Harry thought back to the incident, and vaguely remembered himself clutching his scar with one hand before toppling over to the floor.  
  
"I, I think so...but, I'm not sure.I wasn't able to see the kidnapper.Though,I'm sure Ron did, because I heard him yell at the person."  
  
Bencroft didn't say a word, and continued scribbling down notes into his tiny black notebook, while Mr.Weasley looked like he was in deep thought.  
  
"Did the person say anything, Harry?" asked Mr.Weasley.  
  
"No...but he did tell Ron to stay away..or something like that...he had a really thick loud voice."  
  
Mr.Weasley opened his mouth and was about to ask some more questions, but Bencroft interrupted,him.  
  
"Thank you, Harry.This'll do, Arthur.I think we had better leave you for now, and discuss this further in the morning, when everyone has had some sleep,and has had time to calm down."  
  
"Yes...I agree. We'll talk about this tomorrow then.But, what about my sister in law? Should I be the one to give her the bad news?" said Mr.Weasley.  
  
"No, that won't be necessary. I shall go to her house and explain everything to her after this.We don't want to delay....your sister-in-law has the right to know as soon as possible.Well, then, I best be going.  
Good night Arthur, Harry."   
  
Bencroft walked to the door, and all the other minister members, including the one who kept mumbling to himself followed him out silently.  
Harry walked away from Mr.Weasley and sat down on a chair in the living room, where Fred and George were fast asleep.   
Ginny came towards him after awile, carrying a large quilt.  
  
"Harry, could you help me with this..?" she whispered, so as not to wake up the twins.  
  
After Harry helped Ginny cover the twins, they both sat down and stared around the empty room.  
Mr. and Mrs.Weasley were both in the kitchen now, sitting around the wooden table, talking in anxious and worried tones.  
Ron's wound was bandaged by Hermione, after Mrs.Weasley had magically stitched the gash up, and was moved to his room, where he lay sound asleep.  
  
"Are you alright?" Harry asked Ginny.  
  
"Yes..I'm fine.Just tired..." said Ginny,  
  
"Me too..." sighed Harry.  
  
"I wonder...what happened to Emily." said Ginny, almost to herself.  
  
"I don't know...but I have a feeling that she's still alright..." said Harry, trying to sound reassuring.  
  
They didn't talk for awhile after that, when Harry noticed that Hermione was no where to be seen.  
  
"Where's Hermione?"   
  
"She might have gone up stairs...to watch over Ron."  
  
"I think I'll go up stairs too.Coming?" asked Harry, holding out his hand.  
  
Ginny nodded and took Harry's hand, and together they climbed the old rickety stairs,all the way up to Ron's room and slowly pushed the door open.  
There they saw two sleeping figures.  
One was Ron, and the other was Hermoine,who, by the looks of it, had apparently fallen asleep by his bedside, while she was watching over him.  
  
Ginny and Harry looked at each other, and quietly climbed back down the stairs,leaving the two alone.  
  
~&~&~~&~&~~&~&~&~&~~&~&~~&~&~&~&~~~&~&~~&~&~~&~&~  
Disclaimer: I own nada.  
A/N: Tough!!!! Very tough to write!!! Ugh.Hope you liked it though.Anyway, HAPPY HALLOWEEN people! please review!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!  
And no.emily is not Voldie's kid.......sorry ronluver.But hey, a million brownie points for guessing anyway!  
Cheers!  
  



	6. Default Chapter Title

~*Author's Note*~  
Its UNSPEAKABLES not UNTOUCHABLES!!!! Thanks to isolemnlysweariamup2nogood for that one.  
Here we go!! (THAT has got to be my shortest A/N ever!)  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~*~*~~*~*~~~  
  
The next morning,Harry's dream less sleep was put to an end,when he heard two pairs of feet shuffling past the chair he had fallen asleep in, in the living room.  
  
"Will you be alright Molly?"  
  
Came Mr.Weasley's voice from the kitchen.  
  
"Yes, I'll be alright..although,its the children I'm worried about.Especially Ron.," said Mrs.Weasley's worried voice. "-it scared me half to death when I saw him lying there with that awful gash on his head.."  
  
Mrs.Weasley's voice shook slightly as she said these words, as though she was desperately trying to shake away the scene of the attack,which had happened just hours before.  
  
"Ah..well,I'm sure Ron will be okay..he's stronger than we think he is Molly.He'll be fine,he just needs some rest," said Mr.Weasley encouragingly.  
  
"Of course...But Arthur,I still don't understand all of this.Why Emily? What would anyone want with a small helpless baby? I mean, if it was you-know-who..then I suppose he'd have gone after Harry-"  
  
Harry felt his ears perk up at the sound of his name.  
  
"Actually Bencroft seems to think that this has absolutely nothing to do with you-know-who..and he does have a reason to think so,because all of our sources say he's somewhere up north, gathering his followers.."  
  
"Oh thats just silly.Everyone knows that anything terrible that happens has something to do with you-know-who.How could he just dismiss them like that?"   
  
Harry,somehow thought that this Bencroft person sounded like the minister of magic; Cornelius Fudge.  
But then he remembered the steely gray eye's that seemed to scan him from head to toe..and something inside him told him that this person was unlike any sort of person he had ever met before,...and something else told him to stay away from those piercing pair of eyes...  
  
"Well, Bencroft's best men are on this case,so hopefully he'll be bringing us some good news soon.  
And the sooner the better I say.I can't imagine how Rebecca must feel about all this.I think you should visit her sometime today..Oh my, I think I should be off now..take care."  
  
A short pause followed,after which Harry heard the familiar popping sound wizards made when they apparated to another place.  
Harry looked around the room.  
Fred and George were still sleeping on the sofa, across him, with the quilt that Harry remembered helping Ginny cover them with, crumpled up in a messy heap on the floor.  
Ginny on the other hand was no where to be seen and Harry supposed that she had gone up to her room.  
  
"Good morning Harry." said Mrs.Weasley smiling.  
  
"'Morning, Mrs.Weasley..." replied Harry as he stretched his stiff arms in front of him.  
  
" I'll have breakfast done in a minute dear, in the mean time why don't you go and freshen yourself up upstairs..."  
  
Harry nodded and began climbing the stairs all the way up to Ron's room on the third floor.  
The burrow was unusually quiet this morning, with the exception of Mrs.Weasley's cooking sizzling and cracking along with the tinkling of glasses and plates that came from the kitchen below him.  
Every step he took, climbing up the stairs, seemed to usher in a new thought into Harry's mind,though most of these random thoughts seemed to come to one conclusion.  
Which was, just as Mrs.Weasley had said.."What would anyone want with a small helpless baby..?".  
  
Finally Harry reached the third landing.  
The cluttered sounds of of the kitchens now seemed very distant from up here, though the smell of fried eggs and toast wafted up to Harry's nose regardless of how high the third floor was.   
Harry pushed open the door to Ron's room, and to his surprise found Ron sitting up in his bed wide awake.  
  
" 'Morning Harry," said Ron grinning, and he jerked his head towards another figure, who was covered by a bright orange blanket and was sleeping contently in a chair by the window.  
  
"Don't wake her up yet..she looks like she could do with some more sleep." said Ron quietly.  
  
Harry sat down at the foot of Ron's bed,  
  
"How long have you been awake?" asked Harry curiously   
  
"Over an hour, I guess..I didn't want to go down, and even if I did, I thought I might wake Hermione up..."  
  
"What about your head? I mean, does it hurt?"   
  
Ron ran his hand over the bandage that covered the long gash just above his eyebrow and said,  
  
"Well, to be honest I am feeling a little dizzy, and my head is throbing like it was banged on a brick wall."  
  
"Thats probably just the potion you took last night..it'll wear off." said Harry glancing up at Ron's head.  
  
"What happened to Emily? Is she safe?" asked Ron.  
  
Harry thought for a moment then answered him slowly,  
  
"That person who attacked you last night, took her..we don't know where she is.But they'll find her.Everyone's looking you know, all the best unspeakables and all.."  
  
"Yeah...," muttered Ron dejectedly, "But it's my fault...I mean, I was supposed to take care of her...and now..I wonder what aunt Rebecca will say, she'll probably never talk to me again.."  
  
Harry didn't know what to say to this,although he knew all to well what Ron was feeling at that moment.  
  
"Don't you think we should wake her up for breakfast?" asked Harry,eager to change the subject and lighten up Ron's mood.  
  
"Well....alright then.." shrugged Ron, "But I'll wake her up."   
  
Harry gave Ron a funny look, and Ron upon seeing this,added immediately,   
  
"Er-Well, I just thought I'd surprise her..you know."  
  
And he swung himself out of bed and walked over to Hermione,making the floor beneath him creak continuously.Then he knelt down right in front of her and cautiously called her name.  
  
"Hermione..wake up.."  
  
Hermione shifted in her chair and mumbled something like "..go away.."  
  
"Oh come on...wake up now,will you...the sun's starting to set Hermione."  
  
Harry grinned at this, and noticed that Ron looked like he was actually enjoying all this, but Hermione's eyes remained shut, as she slept like a log in front of Ron.  
  
"You just missed our Arithmancy exam which was an hour ago, and now Mcgonagall wants you to learn divination instead..." said Ron grinning deviously.  
  
Harry was surprised at how Ron really didn't act any different, despite the fact that he was thrown into a wall the night before,but was also very glad that his best friend was alright and had managed to keep his sense of humour intact.  
  
"Exam!? What exam?" said Hermione shooting up in her chair, pushing away the orange blanket off of her.  
  
"There can't be an Arithmancy exam! Professor Vector didn't say anything about that! And I haven't revised! And-" Hermione's rambling was cut short when she noticed Ron, still kneeling in front of her, with a grin on his face.  
  
"This is what you do,Harry, when you want to wake up a know-it-all. Use full stuff to remember." said Ron winking at Harry, while Harry sniggered uncontrollably on Ron's bed.  
  
"Ron!" exclaimed Hermione, throwing her hands around his neck,"Your awake!"  
  
"Oh. Nice of you to notice that.." remarked Ron teasingly, as he stood up from the floor,with Hermione still clinging to his neck.  
  
"I mean, your alright! How do feel? Does your head hurt? Is that horrible wound still bleeding? Oh..its so nice to see your awake,Ron.You gave us such a scare last night.." said Hermione drawing away from him, and practically bouncing up and down with questions.  
  
"I'm fine Hermione, just a little dizzy, but it's nothing.Harry says its the potion, so it should go away soon." said Ron as he sat down beside Harry.  
  
Hermione then turned to look at Harry and asked him seriously, "Have you told him about Emily?"  
  
"Yeah, I have..and I also heard your mum and dad talking about the attack last night...," said Harry.He was about to continue telling them what he had heard earlier that morning, when Hermione gave him a look that told him not to say any more.And Harry knew at once that it was because she didn't want Ron to worry or feel guilty about Emily's disappearance.  
  
"-but I could really do with some breakfast,so I'll just tell you later.Why don't you go down ahead of us,Hermione, while we change our clothes." said Harry quickly.  
  
Hermione agreed and after quickly checking the bandage on Ron's wound, shut the door behind her.  
  
Harry bustled around the room plucking out his toothbrush and something to change into when he noticed that Ron was still sitting on his bed staring out the window.  
  
"Whats the matter?" asked Harry,  
  
"I was just thinking...after Emily's kidnapper attacked me, he said something like 'now all we have to worry about is Ben'-ben- something..I can't remember."  
  
Harry looked straight at Ron then said,  
  
"Bencroft?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Disclaimer :I own noooooooooooothing.  
A/N: Pretty interesting don't you think???? Well, *I* think so.Okay, so this could probably be the most boring plot I have ever thought of but hey! At least I put a lot of work into it!  
And well, school's weighing me down, so please understand if my fics are late.I'll probably have the next part up in another 2 day's.Need to study you know...exams again.  
Oh,and before I go, THANKS SOOO MUCH TO QUEEN NORMA!! who tried to make up for that person who took me off their author alert.You are just soo sweet ! THANKS! And to HARUKA...get well soon!   
Now, to everybody else,don't for get to R/R now! Cheers!  



	7. Default Chapter Title

~*Author's Note*~  
Aha! I just knew someone was going to ask me that!!! *beams at FARIE*.  
Alright people, you see, FARIE was wondering that since I said, in the first part, that it was a week before their 6th year,that I might have ran out of time...Well, ok. You see the the thing is,( assuming I didn't make a mistake with my calculations..) we're only 3 days in to their last week...  
Hmm..I see I've managed to successfully confuse you guys (^^;), so I'll shut up now.   
AND! Before I forget, could you guys PLEASE review my other story, (or at least read it..)  
*When stars revolve and moons twinkle*. So far that fic's only got 57 hits...*sniffles sadly*.  
~**~*~*~*~~~*~*~~*~~*~*~*~~*~*~*~~~~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~~*  
  
" Bencroft?"  
  
"Yeah, thats what he said. How'd you know? Who is this Bencroft person ?" said Ron standing up from his bed.   
  
"He's the one in charge of this case. I met him last night. He came here with his group of unspeakables and started looking around the house for clues..." explained Harry, while Ron walked up to the front of his mirror and tried to pry off the thick white bandage that covered his wound...  
  
Ron turned away from the mirror abruptly, and opened his mouth to say something to Harry, but shut it close again, and started rummaging around for his own clothes, looking deep in thought.  
Harry wondered if he should tell Ron about the feeling he got when he was around Bencroft, but then he remembered the look Hermione gave him earlier and decided to keep it to himself, at least until Ron looked a little better.  
  
Harry and Ron marched down the stairs a few minutes later, and entered the kitchen, where they were greeted by Mrs.Weasley, who was seated at the end of the table,pouring Ginny a glass of pumpkin juice.  
  
"Harry, sit down and have some toast," said Mrs.Weasley, motioning to an empty chair opposite her,   
"What would you like, pumpkin juice or -Ron!"   
  
Mrs.Weasley gasped loudly as she saw Ron wander into the kitchen after Harry, and pull back a chair for himself beside George.  
  
"Er- No,mum. I don't think Harry'd like to drink *me* for breakfast...maybe you should give him the pumpkin juice instead." said Ron plunging his knife into the butter dish and messily spreading butter all over his toast.  
  
Fred and George laughed and heartily patted Ron on the back while Mrs.Weasley rushed up to his side and gave him a relieved hug.  
  
"Are you alright? How do you feel?" she asked brushing Ron's hair with her fingers.  
  
"I'm alright I think..." said Ron going slightly red in the ears.  
  
"Really? Are you sure? Well, just tell me whenever you feel something's wrong. There's still some more of that potion,Ginny and I brewed up last night in that cauldron over there." said Mrs.Weasley glancing at the tattered old cauldron that was simmering in the corner.  
  
"Yes mum." answered Ron, awkwardly.  
  
Mrs.Weasley smiled down at him, and went back to her seat at the end of the table.  
  
"Well, then Harry I suppose you'd like some pumpkin juice then?" said Mrs.Weasley smiling.  
  
"Yes, please." said Harry picking up his glass.  
  
For a few minutes nobody said anything, and ate their breakfast quietly.   
Hermione kept flipping through her copy of the daily prophet, while Fred and George began muttering things in Ron's ear which for some reason made his ears go redder.   
Despite all this though, this morning's breakfast was all in all, visibly more subdued.   
The usual, "G'Morning" and "Pass the butter,please" that was to be heard any other day, was replaced with quiet whispers and cautious glances.  
But then, this wasn't just any other day...  
  
The fact that Emily's gurglish laughter and woebegone cries, which everyone had gotten quite accustomed to, could no longer be heard, was something that was missed sorely. Though no one brought up the subject about her disappearance, nor the attack on Ron which happened only hours before.   
Finally, Ginny broke the silence.  
  
"Mum, we need to go to Diagon alley soon, to get our books...School starts in two days." she said.  
  
"Yes, I know dear.Thats why we're going to go there,later, before lunch, so make sure you don't forget the list that was in your letter from Hogwarts ." said Mrs.Weasley knowingly.  
  
"Then after that, I thought we'd visit your aunt Rebecca, god knows she could use someone to talk to..," she added gloomily.  
  
Hermione, upon hearing this, neatly folded her paper and glanced at Harry.And Harry, in turn, lifted his eyes from his plate to look at Ron.  
Ron's head hung low on his chest, and looked rather pale.  
  
"Well," piped Mrs.Weasley curtly, "Just banish those plates in the sinks, when your done.I'm going to go give Errol his water."  
  
Mrs.Weasley stood up and walked to the back of the kitchen, where a moulty grey thing, that looked something like a mass of feathers glued together, was snoozing soundly.  
  
Fred and George watched their mother bustle around the back of the kitchen, then as   
soon as they were sure that they couldn't be heard, turned to face Ron.  
  
"So, did you see who took Emily?" asked Fred callously.  
  
"Fred! Please, Ron's doesn't need to be reminded about what happened last night..at least not yet." scolded Ginny in a whisper, so that her mother couldn't hear her.  
  
"Well, don't you want to know who took her?" snapped Fred,  
  
"Now, come on Ron.What do you remember about last night?" continued Fred.  
  
Ron didn't want to seem to talk about what happened the other night, but after Fred and George pleaded endlessly, Ron gave in and muttered quietly.  
  
"Er- I was about to clearn up Emily's stuff and.. this bright light flashed right in front of my eyes.   
It was so bright I thought I'd gone blind, 'cause all I could see was white.Then the next thing I know, it got very cold and this person in a black robe was carrying Emily away from her chair...I tried to stop him..but he hit me with some hex and sent me straight to the wall..."  
  
"Did you see his face?" asked George, leaning over Fred.  
  
" No..his face was well back inside his hood, and I barely saw his hands either...In fact I don't think I saw his hands at all.  
It was like this black thing was floating in front of me-"  
  
Ron shuddered slightly and ran his hand over the bandage on his head.   
Though, Fred and George didn't seem to notice and began badgering him with questions again,  
  
"Where did he disapparate?" asked George, carefully making sure that Mrs.Weasley was still at the back with Errol.  
  
"Did he say anything?"  
  
"You should have knocked his wand out, when you had the chance, Ron."  
  
Harry could now see quite clearly that Ron's hands were shaking and that spots of red began to appear on the once white bandage that was wrapped around his head.  
  
"Stop it you two! Can't you see he doesn't want to talk about it?" cut in Hermione, her voice quivering.  
  
Hermione, who had been browsing the daily prophet, and hadn't said much since Harry and Ron came down for breakfast, had a very stern look on her face, and one look from her made both twins realize at once what they had done.  
  
"Sorry, Ron." said Fred.  
  
"Yeah. It's alright...well, I really do feel dizzy you know..I think I'll go back upstairs.." answered Ron.  
  
"Oh, well then I'll go with you." said Hermione standing up,  
  
"Coming Harry?"   
  
Harry nodded and banished their plates into the sink with a wave of his wand.  
  
The three of them left the kitchen, leaving Fred and George looking very ashamed with themselves, while Ginny sighed as she too stood up to get herself some more pumpkin juice, from the jug on the counter.  
  
~*~  
  
"Are you sure your alright?" asked Hermione as she followed Harry into Ron's room.  
  
"Yes, I'm alright Hermione.There's no need to fuss...answering all those questions just made me tired that's all." said Ron as he sat down on the chair by his old desk.  
  
"Actually, Ron. I think your wound's opening up again...that bandage is getting redder..." pointed out Harry.  
  
Hermione walked up to Ron and brushed his hair aside with her hand.  
  
"Ouch. Be careful, will you."  
  
"Oh, so it's starting to hurt again..Hmm, I think you should drink some more of that potion your mum made then."  
  
"And since when did you become my personal nurse, Hermione?"   
  
Harry clearly saw Hermione turn red, while Ron grinned nonchalantly at her.  
  
Harry cleared his throat, as Hermione mumbled something like "impossible..." and sat down on the   
edge of Ron's bed.  
  
"You know," said Harry, trying to change the subject for Hermione's sake.  
  
"I heard your mum and dad talking about Bencroft this morning."  
  
"Who's Bencroft?" asked Hermione pulling up Ron's sheets, from the floor.  
  
Harry, with some help from Ron, filled Hermione in on everything he knew about Bencroft.   
And Ron even told her about what he heard before his attacker took off with Emily.  
  
"He said that?" said Hermione, her eyes wide open.  
  
"Yeah, 'Now all we have to worry about is Bencroft'." Repeated Ron, trying to imitate the thick voice, both he and Harry had heard.  
  
" I don't get it...you make him sound like he wasn't really worried about Bencroft. " put in Harry, furrowing his brow.  
  
"That's just it! He didn't sound worried at all! More like he was worried what Bencroft would think about what he'd done." said Ron eagerly,   
  
"You know, this doesn't make sense..." said Hermione slowly.  
  
" Because if your implying that Bencroft was behind all this-"  
  
" I don't see why it's impossible." interuppted Ron, " I mean he could be capable of anything..."  
  
"But he's a ministry official! "  
  
"Hermione," said Harry slowly, "Time's have changed...Voldemort's stronger now..he could have anyone in the ministry in his hands, like a puppet, or a pawn. Who knows who's on our side and who's not..."  
  
Hermione looked at Harry then at Ron. Finally she let out a sigh of defeat and muttered,  
  
"Fine, you've made your point. But I still think it's too early to decide on such things.."  
  
"That's true.." muttered back Harry, as he leaned back on the wall behind him, making the figures in Ron's Chudley Cannons poster frantically fly away..  
  
Hermione on the other hand, found a corner of Ron's Arithmancy textbook peeking out from under his bed and began thumbing through it's pages, tutting disapprovingly at each and everyone of Ron's doodles...  
Ron watched her scan the book, and Harry noticed that Ron was cringing everytime Hermione frowned at his doodle.  
  
"Er, Hermione, why don't you read something else..." said Ron rushing up to her with his charms textbook.  
  
"No, it's alright. I want to read up on this chapter first.." said Hermione not bothering to look up from the book.  
  
"But that's got doodles all over!"  
  
"It's okay, I really don't mind."  
  
"Oh well, you see, those doodles aren't really nice, and they just get weirder.." tried Ron one more time.  
  
Harry couldn't help wonder since when mindless doodles were meant to be nice...when it occured to him that maybe Ron was worried about something other than *doodles*...  
  
"Alright..If you insist..," said Hermione reluctantly, as she swapped textbooks with Ron.  
  
Ron took back his Arithmancy book almost happily and hurriedly shoved it into his drawer, shrugging as Harry gave him a sly grin.  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~~~*~*~  
Disclaimer: Plot only..MINE.  
A/N. I'm sorry if this was choppy...I just hope it wasn't THAT choppy...  
Well just, tell me tell me tell me TEEEEELLLL MEEEEEE what you think about this part okay.  
Now, a special message to (dun dun dun) [Veralidaine]:Yes, I'll try not to be too hard on myself with my poems, thanks. I'm glad you liked "The gift" :)   
And to [GinnyPotter], THANKS for reviewing *TWO*, yes people, would you believe she reviewed the same fic of mine TWO times!!!!! *snitch starts clapping loudly*.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	8. Default Chapter Title

~*Author's Note*~  
Ok people, here's the next part! And ta-da! I've thought out Bencroft's first name!! I think it suits him, in fact...and I did some research on it too! Well, you'll have to read if you wanna know what I'm talking about... :)  
And to RONWEASLEYFAN...I've just realized this...you've reviewed all my fics haven't you!! Wow!! 5 years worth of brownie points to you! And to RIN BERRY..Congrats on your well done, well ended "simply irresistible" series! (^o^)  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Oi, you three! Get down now, we're about to leave!" announced George, barging into Ron's room noisily.  
  
"Yeah, coming." muttered Harry and Ron, as they stood up from each of their beds where they were lazily reading identical copies of "20th Century Quidditch Heroes", which was a gift to them from Hermione the Christmas before.  
  
"I can't find my list, Harry." grumbled Ron, heaving piles of books aside, looking for the envelope with the familiar green ink and Hogwarts crest.  
  
"Yeah, neither can I..," frowned Harry.  
  
"Really, you shouldn't lose important things like those so easily.." said Hermione reprovingly as she watched the two boys look around desperately for the envelope, which contained the list of all the books they needed that year.  
  
"Oh, well don't tell me you carry yours around where ever you go!" retorted Ron, stacking back his books into an unsteady pile by the foot of his bed.  
  
"As a matter of fact I do," said Hermione, easily pulling out a neatly folded piece of paper from her pocket.  
  
"We're leaving without you if you don't come down soon!" came another shrill shout from below them.  
This time it was the obviously impatient voice of Mrs.Weasley, calling them.  
  
"Hey, I think we'd better go...Hermione, could you just show us your list later?" said Harry, dragging Ron out of his room, with Hermione following them behind closely.  
  
"Sure." replied Hermione triumphantly, earning herself a moody sulk from Ron.  
  
The three of them hurried down to the kitchen, where they found Mrs.Weasley and Ginny waiting for them by the fireplace. Fred and George it seemed, had already zoomed away to Diagon alley ahead of them.  
  
"Are you sure your up to some traveling Ron?" asked Mrs.Weasley looking up her sons reddened bandage,   
  
"Yeah, I'm fine really." said Ron dismissively.  
  
Mrs.Weasley gave him another concerned look but then sighed and passed Harry a tiny pink jar which was filled half way through with shimmering Floo powder.  
  
"Alright then, Harry, you go first. Fred and George should be waiting for you on the other side. Don't step out of the grate if you don't see them."   
  
Harry nodded and grabbed a pinch of the shimmering powder and threw it into the fire, and immediately the cackling orange fire roared up and turned green.  
Harry tentatively walked into the grate and before puffs of smoke could engulf him, shouted out,  
  
"Diagon alley!"  
  
~*~  
  
As soon as everyone had stepped out into the busy, chattering avenue which was crowded with rows of magical stores, Mrs.Weasley led the way to Gringotts with Fred and George trailing behind them.   
  
Harry ran up to Hermione's side and asked if he could see their book list.  
  
"Sure, Harry." said Hermione, pushing the piece of parchment in to Harry's hands.  
  
For a moment, Harry's hands brushed against Hermione's, and although Hermione didn't notice, Harry saw through the corner of his eye that at that same moment, Ron had clumsily smashed into Ginny's back, causing Ginny to fall forward.  
  
"Ron! watch where you're going!" hissed Ginny,   
  
"Er- yeah..." said Ron distractedly.  
  
And Harry secretly hoped that the reason for this was not because of the crumbly pavement they walked on.  
The group soon entered Gringotts where Mrs.Weasley and Harry took the cart to their vaults, while the twins, Ron, Hermione and Ginny lounged around by the entrance.  
Harry, who was used to dizzy swerves and giddy loops, since he was the Gryffindor seeker for five years in a row, rather enjoyed the whole ride to the Weasley's vaults, which was a stark contrast to how Mrs.Weasley appeared to be taking the ride.  
  
"Can't this thing go a little bit slower?" she asked the goblin riding with them, slowly.  
  
"No, ma'am. Always one speed when we travel to the vaults, lest ye want our 'guards' to think we were robbers...and believe me ma'am, ye don't want that." answered the grumpy looking goblin staunchly.  
  
Mrs.Weasley frowned slightly and gripped the edge of the cart tighter than before, as though her life depended on it.  
And by the way her round rosy cheeks were paling by the second, Harry thought that it probably did.  
After gathering the money they needed, Harry and Mrs.Weasley headed back up the dimly lit tunnels, and emerged out into the quiet inside of the Gringotts Wizard bank.  
Ron, Ginny and Hermione were all sitting in oversized green armchairs watching the goblins zipping around doing their work.  
  
"Where are your brothers, Ginny?" asked Mrs.Weasley looking around,  
  
"They said they'd go on ahead and meet up with us in front of Flourish and Blotts in about an hour.." said Ginny pulling herself out of her chair.  
  
"Oh really...did they say where they were off to?"   
  
"No...but they don't need to, they've probably just gone off to randomly terrorizing shoppers, nothing dangerous." replied Ron, with a very factly air.  
  
Harry and Ginny chuckled under their breaths while Hermione and Mrs.Weasley let out disproving sighs.  
  
~*~  
An hour later.  
  
Harry and everyone, lazed around inside the Leaky Cauldron sipping cool icy drinks, and skimming through their thick text books.  
  
"Hey! Look at this, we're doing advanced Transfiguration this year! " exclaimed Ron, waving his textbook around.  
  
"Really?" said Harry leaning over to see the page Ron was pointing at.  
  
"Look here," said Ron grinning,  
  
"How to transfigure rocks, trees, doors, tables...." counted Ron as he read aloud a page from his book.  
  
"Well then I suppose you'll be taking your studies a little more seriously then." inquired Hermione from the end of the table, where she was sitting with Ginny.  
  
"Oh yeah... definitely! Wouldn't want you to lose your head now would I?" replied Ron grinning.  
  
"Ron,be serious for a moment, will you!" sniped Hermione, while Ginny involuntarily placed a hand over Hermione's arm to calm her down.  
  
" Er- Hermione, I'm afraid Ron is..." said Harry smiling lopsidedly.  
  
"I am?"   
  
"Yeah you are! You plan to be Percy the second don't you?" said Harry in mock shock.  
  
"Oh! Alright..,Of course I'm serious!" said Ron glancing down the table, where Ginny and Hermione were frowning profusely,   
  
"Can't possibly wait to boost my intellectual prowess, and join the ranks of those noble people who brave the terrors of the library day after day after day after day..... " Ron trailed off dazedly, leaving Harry to chuckle beside him.  
  
Just then, the door to the pub swung open and Mrs.Weasley came marching in dragging Fred and George by their ears.  
  
"Honestly, I would think that after you two had graduated, you would behave a little bit more responsibly..but NO! What do you do? You go off and hand out those silly lollipops and make unknowing strangers heads go BALD!!"  
  
"But it was only temporary...!" reasoned George, trying to wriggle free from his mothers grasp.  
  
"Temporary? Yes, but what if it didn't wear off?? Then what would you do?!" steamed Mrs.Weasley as she waved her finger in front of her sons threatingly .  
  
Fred and George didn't answer, and instead looked down and scuffed their shoes against the wooden floor.  
Mrs.Weasley whirled around and faced the table where Harry,Ron, Hermione and Ginny were sitting and although her voice came out slightly raspy, managed to say firmly,  
  
"Well, since we're all here.. I think we can go visit Rebecca now. I owled her this morning just so she knows.. anyhow, make sure you don't forget anything....."   
  
And without another look at Fred and George, swept past them and headed out to the grate beside the pub, her cheeks faintly red from her temper.  
  
~*~  
Traveling by Floo powder, while carrying two heavy bags filled with large leather bound textbooks, isn't really a very pleasant experience. Unfortunately Harry found out the hard way, when his bags ripped while he zoomed after Ginny on the way to aunt Rebecca's house.  
Harry hobbled out of the fireplace clutching two of his ripped bags in one arm, while the other mopped his face of the chimney soot.  
  
"Harry are you alright?" asked Ginny, handing him a soft wet towel.  
  
"Yeah, I'm alright, I think..Thanks." said Harry, straightening up, and taking the towel from her.  
  
Harry looked around and saw that he was in a bright airy room, with bright yellow curtains pulled back aside the windows, and a small wooden table with a vase full of daisies a few feet away.  
Fred and George were already sipping their tea on the other side of the room, curiously looking around the room. every now and then.  
  
"Hello, Harry..." said a familiar voice from the doorway to his left.  
  
"Oh, hello aunt Rebecca." said Harry, seeing Mrs.Weasleys sister.  
  
Aunt Rebecca smiled, almost wearily, and Harry saw that her eyes were still slightly red.   
After muttering a short spell, a tray of piping hot tea appeared from behind her, floating seamlessly in the air.  
  
"Go on, Ginny, Harry.Have a seat over there...would you like some tea?"  
  
Harry shook his head while Ginny muttered 'no thanks'.  
Harry took a seat beside Ginny while Aunt Rebecca disappeared again through the doorway.  
Soon after a few more moments Ron, came through the same fireplace coughing relentlessly.  
  
"I really hate Floo..." he commented, bending over to pick up the books that had fallen out of his bag, when..  
  
"OOMPH!"   
  
Hermione had just stumbled out of the fireplace and had knocked her head directly onto Ron's.  
  
"Ow! My head!" said Ron clutching his bandaged forehead.  
  
"Oh no! Ron, are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to knock into you..you were just there..and I just did ! Oh, I'm so sorry..." sputtered Hermione, trying to pull off Ron's hand from his wound, so she could examine his bandage.  
  
"What are you trying to pull, Hermione? Trying to knock me out again?" spat Ron, as he massaged his head irritably.  
  
"I'm sorry ok..I didn't mean to...Oh no, your wound's opened up again..." said Hermione glancing up at Ron's rapidly reddening bandage.  
  
"What's happened Hermione?" asked Mrs.Weasley who had just apparated by Ron's side.  
  
"I- I knocked into him, and his wound opened up again.." explained Hermione quickly.  
  
"Again? Well then.. we'll have to change the bandage..." concluded Mrs.Weasley.  
  
"Molly!"   
  
Aunt Rebecca rushed up to her sister and threw her arms around her neck.  
But Mrs.Weasley pulled away shortly and explained Ron's predicament.  
Ron however, had pulled away his hand from his head, and refused to look at Aunt Rebecca in the eye, instead he looked down at the floor.   
Aunt Rebecca, who had drawn away from her sister,looked around, and appeared to have noticed that Ron was standing there with Hermione, just then.Then, to Ron's surprise she flung her arms around his neck in a very motherly fashion and began sobbing.  
  
"Oh..Your alright! I was so worried..I heard from Duncan that you were knocked into the wall that night...And - and I couldn't bare the guilt if I lost a nephew as well as a daughter !...I was just so scared...," Ron looked thoroughly shocked, and so did Harry, Ginny, Fred, George and Hermione.  
  
"Rebecca..Ronald's fine.He just got an awful gash on his head.." assured Mrs.Weasley, putting an arm around her sobbing sister.Aunt Rebecca drew away and slowly regained her composure.  
  
"Ronald! Your wound! It's bleeding again...well, there's a roll of bandage in that drawer over there, and we could just clean the blood with a well towel..." pointed out aunt Rebecca, her eyes puffy from crying.  
  
"I'll go get it," volunteered Hermione.  
  
"Ron, you go with her and have your wound cleaned up." said Mrs.Weasley, supporting her sister by the arm and leading her to an open seat close to Harry.  
  
After Hermione and Ron, disappeared in to the the other room, Mrs.Weasley turned to her red eyed sister and began talking to her in a soothing voice.  
  
"Rebecca...it's alright you know..Arthur's working on this case too, and he said we might be able to get some good news soon.."   
  
But aunt Rebecca didn't answer and continued sniffling into her hand embroidered handkerchief.  
  
"And Bencroft's on this case too, remember? He's sure to figure this out soon...he's one of the best!"  
  
"Yes, he's been dropping by to ask questions..." responded aunt Rebecca miserably.  
  
Ginny looked confused and glanced at Harry.Harry looked around.  
Fred and George were listening intently to the conversation, while Ron and Hermione were still away.  
  
"He has? Not a very sensitive person is he...," frowned Mrs.Weasley, "Badgering you, when your in this state.."  
  
"No, it's okay really...he's actually a family friend....well, relative actually."  
  
"What?" exclaimed Harry, then suddenly realizing his outburst, instantly turned red and sat down again.  
But he wasn't the only one that looked surprised.  
  
"Is that true, Rebecca.?"  
  
"Yes.Didn't you know? He's John's first cousin....John and him used to work at the same department,before he decided to join the unspeakables..and before John died in that deatheater attack last year..."  
  
Aunt Rebecca fell silent, though this time she did not cry, and Mrs.Weasley held her hand tightly in hers.  
Suddenly, a faint pop was heard and everyone turned around to see a tall, grim looking man with the same piercing gray eyes that Harry remembered so well.  
And all at once, memories of the fateful night when Emily's had disappeared came drifting back into his head.  
It was Bencroft the unspeakable.  
  
" You must be Arthurs wife..." he said facing Mrs.Weasley's way.He stood as stiffly and his eyes were still as cold and emotionless as ever.  
  
"Yes, I am.." replied Mrs.Weasley.  
  
"Pleased to meet you.I'm Duncan Bencroft.". he said tipping his head.  
  
"You..you're Bencroft?" came Ron's shaky voice, from behind Bencroft.  
  
Ron's face was pale and his eyes were dull, and he was leaning on the frame of the door, for support.Hermione stood beside him, with a look of obvious worry on her face.  
Everybody turned towards him in surprise.  
  
"You're the one who ordered Emily to be kidnapped, didn't you..." hissed Ron slowly.  
  
Bencroft didn't respond,and instead made a move towards Ron,  
  
"You ordered those people to get her, and now you're here, masquerading as some saintly ministry official, aren't you.." continued Ron, his face pale as a sheet of paper.He looked like he was going to pass out at any moment.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," replied Bencroft silkily,   
  
"Yeah, well you can say what you want," spat Ron, "I know your the one whose behin-"   
  
Ron raised his hand to his forehead and fell forward, his face twisted in pain and annoyance.  
Bencroft, seeing this closed their distance and caught Ron in his arms, before he could hit the floor.  
  
"Ron!" cried Hermione.  
  
Ginny and Mrs.Weasley looked positively shocked and hurried over to Ron who was being dragged by Bencroft to an open sofa.  
  
"What's happened to him?" asked Ginny. Fred and George were also looking distraught, over Ginny's shoulder at the sight of their brother writhing in pain.  
  
"It's his wound.." answered Bencroft flatly, laying Ron down on his back, while Ron muttered on with his eyes shut,  
  
"I know it's you...I heard them..I heard them talking..."  
  
  
  
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Disclaimer: They're not mine..sorry.  
A/N: Hmm......Oh yeah, I have a big announcement to make...I NEED A BETA READER FOR THIS FIC!! if your interested, just leave your email in your review *hint hint*, and I'll email you with the details.   
Why do I need one ? well,I figure I'll do *anything* to make my fics better, so here I am looking for a beta reader, preferably someone who can keep up with a continuously blundering author such as I *grins*.  
Oh, and don't you think Bencrofts first name is cool??? Duncan..yeah, reminds me of highlander..ah well, it's a small world.  
PLEASE REVIEW!! And thanks for reading!  
  
  



	9. Default Chapter Title

  
~*Author's Note*~  
Here it is!! I'm so sorry this is late. My computer decided to boycott me so I couldn't use it earlier this week...Well, I'm back, complete with the help, my lovely beta readers, *isolemnlysweariamup2nogood* and *Megan T* have given me for this fic ;)  
Like I said, the first part is creepy, so before you all read I suggest you go dim the lights and grab some pop corn! LoL..  
And don't mind that rattling noise coming from behind your computer...or that strange looming shadow to your left...  
*Weeee..*  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
Ron stared into the empty black space all around him. His vision was blurred and he had a floaty feeling all over his legs. Ron looked around, straining his ears for some sound that would indicate where he was, or for a light that he could use as a beacon in the dismal world that he had somehow stepped into.  
But there was nothing. No sound, no light, no nothing.  
  
Ron stood there, staring at the never ending shadows around him. He didn't feel afraid or worried, and he didn't feel lonely either. On the contrary, Ron felt content that he was alone.  
He wandered around, walking on a floor he could not see, and tried to recall what he could of what happened before.  
  
"Hello...Ronald," spoke a voice from a corner.  
  
Ron whirled around, and found a tall, grim man with luminous gray eyes standing stoutly, holding out his hand, as though he was waiting for Ron to shake it. Ron recognized the man to be Bencroft immediately, but stood his ground and didn't move. He scanned Bencroft, scathingly, and though his vision was still slightly fogged he could clearly see that Bencroft's eyes  
weren't looking at him, they were looking right through him.  
  
"What do you want?" demanded Ron, balling up his fist tightly.  
  
"I don't want anything...." replied Bencroft slowly.  
  
Ron raised his eyebrows in defiance,  
  
"Oh really. Listen, why don't you just save yourself the trouble and kill me now, or abduct me or whatever criminals like you do, and get it over with."  
  
Bencroft sighed, and ran his long bony fingers through his hair in a tired way, which only irritated Ron even more.  
  
"I remember when I was young...I was just as stubborn and as hot tempered as you...." he said.  
  
"I'd jump to conclusions, and despise those whom I supposed was guilty, regardless of the facts...."  
  
"What's that got to do with me?" shot Ron impatiently.  
  
But Bencroft ignored Ron and continued at his own pace.  
  
"I was impatient too," he added with a smirk, "Didn't get any satisfaction in waiting for things that would just confuse me anyway...that worked for me for a while...running away from facts. Even when I entered the academy, I'd try and solve things my way. I didn't wait for permits or papers or the like. Even danger didn't stop me...I'd just go and ignore them all."  
  
Ron stared at Bencroft, and saw that he was now frowning rather sadly. His luminous and steely gray eyes were glazed over, as though he was recalling something from his past that pained him thoroughly.  
  
"And what exactly was your way...?" asked Ron numbly.  
  
"My way? Why, I'd hunt down whoever the people pointed out. Then once I found him I'd drag him to the ministry and interrogate him till I got a confession out, and usually that was enough to send him to Azkaban back then," answered Bencroft pointedly,  
  
"Some would plead and beg, some would cry...some got mad...but in the end, I always got what I wanted...I thought they were all the same. Just another load of excuses and alibis."  
  
"You sound like Percy's old boss, Mr. Crouch," said Ron blatantly.  
  
"Ah, you know about Barty, do you ?" said Bencroft, looking mildly impressed at Ron.  
  
"Well, some people called me his prodigy or his successor...but Barty and I are two different people. We went about things in very different ways. He researched things in thick heavy books, and heeded every rule that was written down, while I wandered the streets and pubs gathering information from the people...But...after all that, I suppose Barty went about it the  
right way...at least he didn't lose someone close to him as early as I did."  
  
Bencroft shut his eyes, and waved his hand blindly in front of him, as though he was trying to shake away a scene that was playing at that moment.Ron then watched him straighten up and open his eyes. For a moment Ron stared straight at Bencroft's face and saw that the once stony and emotionless features he had, now showed something like regret.  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Ron tensely. "What happened?"  
  
Bencroft raised his head and surveyed Ron in a scrutinizing way, trying to suck in as much detail as he could of the boy in front of him. Ron felt like Bencroft's eyes were boring in to his own, but he tried not to fidget and stood as calm and still as he could.  
  
"It's nothing important..." concluded Bencroft.  
  
And he turned around and began to walk away right into the fading darkness that surrounded them.  
  
"Wait," Ron called to him, "what about Emily? What's going to happen to her?"  
  
"I already know who has her...now go on...go back to Rebecca. She and Molly are probably worried sick about you...go on. Don't worry about Emily anymore...I won't let anything happen to her...."  
  
Ron stared at Bencroft's retreating back, wondering about the strange conversation he had just had with him, and wondered if this was all just something his tired mind thought up.  
Bencroft walked away and disappeared from Ron's sight, leaving Ron all alone again. This time though, he did feel alone. He found that a lonely sinking feeling had begun to eat at his spirits and the more he looked around at the darkness that hugged him, the more he wanted to get away from it all.  
Ron sank down on the cold ground beneath him, and drew his knees up to hischest.  
  
~*~   
  
"Ron dear...it's time to wake up now...." a soft voice called.  
  
Ron slowly opened his heavy eyelids and tried to focus on the blurry faces that were looking over him.  
  
"Are you feeling any better?" asked Aunt Rebecca, who was standing beside his mother, Mrs. Weasley.  
  
Ron tried to answer but nothing but a sparse choking sound came out.  
  
"It's alright...don't force yourself...Here, drink this. It's a potion to close your wound permanently," said Mrs. Weasley, while George passed her a frothing goblet.  
  
Ron raised himself up on the sofa and brought the goblet to his lips. The potion itself didn't taste so bad, although the minute he swallowed, he felt the skin on his forehead shrivel up and bond together. It was an odd ticklish feeling, which made Ron sit up straighter on the sofa.  
  
"Where's Bencroft?" asked Ron hoarsely, after the tickling sensation on his forehead had receded.  
  
"He just left...a ministry owl came a while ago, and he said he had to go at once," explained Harry over Ginny's shoulder.  
  
"Ron...." began Fred, pulling his chair with him, closer to Ron's sofa.  
  
"You were saying something to Bencroft before you passed out...what did you mean by all that?"  
  
Ron looked down at his lap, and remembered the odd dream he had. He couldn't explain all of it to everyone, at least not now...he couldn't even recall all of it anymore. He tried to reach out and grab whatever pieces of the dream he had, but now the only thing that made sense to him was Bencroft's regret about something in his past.  
  
"It's nothing...."  
  
"What do you mean it's nothing...you had to mean something. You were practically fuming when you accused him."  
  
"It's nothing, alright. I-I, well I'm not sure...." said Ron.  
  
Fred turned and glanced at his mother and aunt. Mrs. Weasley looked worried as she half leaned on her sister.  
  
"I think I should tell you all something about Duncan," spoke Aunt Rebecca promptly.  
  
And she seated herself on the other end of the sofa, while Ron pulled up his knees to make some space for his aunt.  
George also seated himself on the arm of Fred's oversized chair, while Ginny walked over to where Hermione was sitting, which was at the back of the crowd.  
Hermione who was visibly just as worried as everyone else, decided to sit at the back and listen to the conversation from there.Harry didn't move, and stood listening to what Aunt Rebecca was about to say.  
  
"First, Duncan...like I said before is a relative, he's my husbands first cousin. And he also studied and worked with my husband before, so I can safely say that we know each other fairly well."  
  
Aunt Rebecca looked around, and after making sure that she still had everyone's attention, continued solemnly,  
  
"He's a quiet man...doesn't talk to people unless he has to. He may look cruel, and mean...but that's only because of his past. And I am very sure that he couldn't have been the one to kidnap Emily."  
  
She said the last part quite firmly making Ron glanced at Harry and Hermione's direction....  
  
"He just doesn't have a motive," continued Aunt Rebecca, shaking her head,  
  
"...He scorns anything that concerns the dark arts, and would do anything to rid this world of it. Ron," she said turning to her nephew,  
  
"I do believe you saw the one who took my daughter, and I also believe you did all you could to stop them from taking her away...but Ron...don't you think that you could have heard wrong? Maybe it was another name that you heard...."  
  
"I heard correctly, Aunt Rebecca...." answered Ron.  
  
"Are you sure? Ronald dear...I've known Duncan for 6 years...he isn't what he seems to be."  
  
Ron didn't say or do anything, but to turn away and look out the window in to the tiny garden in front of the house.  
  
"Aunt Rebecca," spoke Hermione for the first time, "could you tell us about Mr. Bencroft's past...."  
  
Every head in the room turned to face Hermione, including Ron.  
Harry stared at his best friend sitting by the fireplace, and wondered what was going through her mind at that very moment.  
Had she realized something about the unspeakable in question that all of them had overlooked? Knowing Hermione, she probably did, and Harry made a mental note to himself to ask her about it later on.  
  
"Well...." replied Aunt Rebecca somewhat gravely, "He entered the academy early on, and was very good at what he did, very sharp, from what John told me before. And he also had a brother. Yorick."  
  
Aunt Rebecca paused briefly as though she was debating within herself whether to continue or not.  
  
"What happened to his brother?" questioned Ginny.  
  
"He died."  
  
An icy silence fell over the room, punctuated by the rustle of tree leaves outside.  
  
"I don't really know the details about his death...my husband never really liked to talk about it, and neither does Duncan. But they say that he died looking for You-Know-Who."  
  
"You-Know-Who killed his brother?"  
  
"Well, that's what they say. The ministry was in chaos back then, and another death wasn't what they needed so they didn't give the papers any details about what happened...."  
  
Ron listened quietly to all of this. Aunt Rebecca's story strikingly made sense to him for some reason, and he absentmindedly ran his hand over the place where his wound had been.  
On the other hand, everyone else wasn't taking all of this as calmly as Ron did. Most of them, had dark and confused expressions on their faces, and the atmosphere in the once bright and airy room was now cold and gloomy.  
Outside, the sun had begun to set, and already three or four stars were beginning to twinkle their way into the night.  
  
"Rebecca...it's getting late. I think the children and I should be going now...." said Mrs. Weasley from her chair.  
  
"Oh. Yes, it's getting dark and Arthur might be worried about you...." responded Rebecca, as she stood up and began collecting the used teacups on the table.  
  
"Come on now, George, Fred, make sure you don't forget your books. And girls,could you go get some more of that potion we brewed a while ago?"  
  
Every one stood up and began bustling around gathering their things. Ron stood up also and pulled his bag towards him and walked to the fireplace waiting for everyone else to follow.  
Though that didn't seem be happening anytime soon since Fred and George were looking all over for the stash of home made pranks they had brought along. And Harry, was trying, and failing miserably to help Ginny look around the  
kitchen for a glass that she could put the potion into, though so far all he could manage to do was bump into her three times, and stutter incoherent apologies, much to Hermione's annoyance.  
Finally Hermione came out of the kitchen and joined Ron in front of the grate.  
  
"Did the potion work?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Yeah it did...." said Ron, watching his mum hug her sister reassuringly in a  
corner.  
  
"You scared me you know...you just sort of fell forward, and your bandage was all bloody...." said Hermione, glancing up at Ron's forehead.  
  
"I'm sorry," Ron didn't know why he was apologizing, but he felt that he should say something to ease Hermione's worry.  
  
"I just saw Bencroft standing there, and all of a sudden I wanted him to have a piece of my mind...."  
  
Hermione stood beside Ron, lost in her own thoughts.  
  
"Are you okay?" asked Ron, looking sideways at Hermione's blank face.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine...I'm just tired...all those things your Aunt Rebecca told us, they're all still running circles in my head, and well...honestly it's giving me a headache," replied Hermione, looking up at Ron.While another 'Fred! the toad's loose!' roared a voice from behind the sofa.  
  
Ron cast a quick look at Hermione, and grinned.  
  
"Well, that's a first," he said smugly.  
  
"Oh, fine make fun of me," said Hermione crossly,  
  
"I go around, changing your bandages, cleaning your wound, and worrying my head off about you---"  
  
"You were worried about me?" asked Ron, trying desperately to hide a smile and unaware of the stares he and Hermione were earning from his family and Harry.  
  
"Of course I was! But as always, you were just too pig headed and insensitive to notice and do anything about it but make fun of me. Well, this will remind me never to worry about you again!" ended Hermione snappishly.  
  
"I didn't mean that...." said Ron quickly.  
  
But Hermione ignored him and turned around to collect her bags which were neatly lined on top of the small table, only to find Mrs. Weasley, Aunt Rebecca, Fred, George, Ginny and Harry staring at her and Ron.  
Hermione turned a healthy shade of pink at once and mumbled,  
  
"Uh, I think I'll go get my bags now...."  
  
Fred and George grinned mischievously at Ron as they slung their bags over their shoulders and walked to his side, waiting for their mother. Mrs. Weasley said her final good-byes to her sister and marched to the  
fireplace. Harry and Ginny followed also.  
  
"I'll see you again Rebecca, take care," said Mrs. Weasley,  
  
"Alright, Fred, George you two go on ahead. And Ginny and I will follow...."  
  
Mrs. Weasley trailed on with her instructions, and Harry took the opportunity to inch towards Ron and whisper,  
  
"I think you'd better apologize to Hermione...she looks upset."  
  
Ron shrugged.  
Soon, only Harry, Ron and Hermione were left in Aunt Rebecca's living room.  
  
"I think I'll go first," said Harry while he winked at Ron. Ron groaned slightly, but nodded.  
  
Once Harry had disappeared through the fire, Hermione made a move to go  
next, but Ron stopped her awkwardly and said,  
  
"I'm sorry, about all that...I really didn't mean it that way," apologized Ron, going red.  
  
Aunt Rebecca looked on at the two, beaming and trying not to be disturb them.  
  
"I really appreciate all the things you've done for me...and I'm sorry I didn't notice...."  
  
Hermione looked taken aback by Ron's apology, but accepted it anyway, and added,  
  
"Just promise me you won't pass out on me again and scare me to bits."  
  
"I promise," said Ron smiling.  
  
He then turned to face his aunt and said,  
  
"Thanks for everything Aunt Rebecca. We'll see you soon."  
  
Aunt Rebecca smiled back at him and nodded fondly.  
Hermione threw a pinch of Floo Powder into the fire and stepped into it, shouting 'The burrow,' loudly and clearly.  
Ron too was about to follow her, when his aunt pulled him back.  
  
"You'll take care of her, won't you Ronald...she's a nice young lady...." she said grinning.  
  
Ron turned red immediately but nodded and grinned back reluctantly.  
He then threw in a pinch of the same shimmering powder and stepped in to the blazing green fire.  
  
_____________________________________________________________________________  
  
*Disclaimer*  
Nope, their not mine. Eek!  
  
A/N: Creepy first scene huh? Ah..well that was one of my favorite parts to write ;) The next part will have more fluff I guess, since the past parts have been a tad bit too serious. Oh, and they go back to Hogwarts in the next one!  
And thanks to my wonderful beta readers; isolemnlysweariamup2nogood and Megan T.  
It's ok Megan ;) I appreciate the work you've put into beta reading for me all the same,even though I really did want to read your comments about this part..But really, don't worry about it. Like they say, ' It's the thought that counts!'   
* Snitch starts singing 'Jingle bells' in a very off-key-glass-shattering-screech..*  
  
Cheers to you all! 


	10. Default Chapter Title

~*Author's Note*~  
Yes! First of all, thanks again to MeganT and isolemnlysweariamup2nogood, for their wonderful help! I tried to make this part nice and sweet, but it didn't quite turn out to be as fluffy as I wanted it too..Oh well.. I still think it's quite good anyway :) Hope you guys have fun reading it. And please R/R!!   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*   
  
"Pig! Get back here you feathery git!" yelled Ron, as he swiped one of his large hands in the air, in a fruitless attempt to snatch the gleefully hooting owl who was zooming around his head.   
"Get in there and keep quiet!" ordered Ron, stuffing Pigwidgeon back into his tiny cage, and setting it beside Hedwig.   
"Come on Ron, your mum's waiting for us outside...."   
"Yeah, I'm coming...." muttered Ron, while he threw a thin, dark blue piece of cloth over Pigwidgeon's cage.   
He then exited the compartment with Harry, and left Hedwig to care for his hyperactive minute owl. As they stepped out of the train, they found Fred and George talking animatedly behind their mother, who in turn was busy squeezing the air out of Hermione and Ginny.   
"Now, you two keep an eye out on the boys this year, and make sure they don't get into trouble," said Mrs. Weasley strictly.   
Hermione and Ginny grinned and nodded back.   
"Hey, It's not like we want to get into trouble! How come you have to appoint Hermione and Ginny to be our bodyguards?" retorted Ron, walking over to his mother and looking down at her.   
Ron loomed over his mother intimidatingly, yet Mrs. Weasley didn't really give it any thought and pulled her son down and gave him a tight hug, carefully lecturing him over his shoulder that if anything went wrong, not to hesitate owling back home. Ron grunted in agreement, and Harry laughed quietly to himself, at the sight of his tall friend trying to wriggle free of his mother's grasp. Though soon, Harry found himself in the same bear hug Mrs. Weasley had administered on Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.   
"You too, Harry. Take care of yourself this year," she muttered worriedly,   
"and owl us anytime, if something goes wrong, okay...."   
Harry tried his best to mumble back something comprehensible, but it seemed that the words were stuck somewhere in his throat. Finally Mrs. Weasley pulled back, and only then did Harry manage to stutter out a reply properly. Mrs. Weasley smiled at Harry warmly and turned around to face Ron and the others.   
"Well, go inside now, it's almost time to leave...and you lot don't want to be left behind," she piped.   
"And don't forget to visit us at Zonko's in Hogsmeade!" added George, clapping Ron on the shoulder.   
"Yeah, come anytime! Just tell the witch the magic word." said Fred, winking at Harry.   
Harry and Ron grinned back at the twins and boarded the scarlet steam engine with Ginny and Hermione, briefly turning back to take a last look at the madly grinning twins and the smiling Mrs. Weasley.   
"I wonder what it's going to be like this year, without Fred and George and their pranks...." wondered Hermione aloud as she stepped into the compartment and began rummaging inside her bag for a book to read.   
"It'd probably be more quiet, wouldn't it...?" she continued, thumbing through her book and plopping down on the seat.   
Ron sat himself beside Harry and gazed out of the window. It was true...this year there wouldn't be any more pranks on Filch, or butterbeer parties late at night...there wouldn't be any more Fred and George this year. Which meant that Ron was going to be the oldest Weasley at Hogwarts this time.... Ron frowned slightly, for he knew that that also meant another reputation was going to be added to the already long list of Weasley achievements that he had to live up to.   
"Hello? Ron?" called Ginny.   
"Huh? What, Ginny?"   
"You're not thinking about Bencroft again, are you? I know you think he took Emily but really Ron, it's no use worrying about--"   
"Ginny, I wasn't thinking about Bencroft, or Emily...I was just, well... thinking about stuff," murmured Ron.   
Harry glanced sideways at his surprisingly quiet friend, who at that moment seemed lost again in his own thoughts.   
"Well, I'm hungry...I think I'll go see if I can buy anything from the old witch. Ron, wanna come?" asked Harry standing up from his seat.   
Ron didn't answer Harry, and continued to stare out the window at the blurry images of English landscapes that were speeding past the train.   
"Yeah, well. I guess he's out," commented Harry lightly.   
"What about you two? Coming?" asked Harry, turning to Hermione and Ginny.   
"Hermione?"   
"No...I'm not hungry...go on ahead without me...." mumbled Hermione from behind her book.   
Harry rolled his eyes in despair.   
"I'll go with you Harry. I think I could do with a nice bag of chocolate frogs...." announced Ginny, getting up and sliding the compartment door open.   
"All right then, want us to get you guys anything?" asked Harry.  
Ron just shrugged while Hermione shook her head. Harry then followed Ginny out of the compartment and slid the door closed.   
"Don't you think Ron's being awfully quiet?" asked Harry as soon as they began walking away from the door.   
"I do...." replied Ginny, "But you know him...I think it's best that we just leave him to his thoughts...."   
Harry silently agreed with this, though at the same time thought that no one could really blame Ron for worrying about Emily's kidnapping. He was quite attached to the smiling baby himself. Harry and Ginny continued down the corridor, off on their quest to find the dumpy old witch who sold the sweets, both unaware of the rather amusing things going on back at the compartment they had just left....   
  
Ron sat in his seat quietly, his long legs stretched out in front of him, occupying the empty space beside Hedwig's cage. He sat there, wondering about the rest of the school year that was about to unfold before him and his friends. Furthermore, he also wondered about what was happening with Emily's case. Would she perhaps be brought back to Aunt Rebecca safely? What about Bencroft? Where did he fit into all of this? Ron was sure he would never forgive himself if anything happened to his baby cousin, he did grow quite attached to the child, and there was a part of him that was overflowing with guilt at not being able to stop the kidnapping. These days it seemed to Ron that there just wasn't anything he could get right.   
Ron glumly tore his eyes away from the window and turned to look at Hermione, who was now completely engrossed in her book. Aptly titled, "Studying in the 21st century. By Professor Mai Gnirob of the Society for Higher Education." Ron didn't really want to disturb her, but he had this unexplainable urge to talk to someone, growing inside of him at that very moment which he couldn't ignore.   
"Hermione...." prompted Ron, "Wanna play some chess with me?"   
Hermione looked up at Ron and gave him a sort of uncertain look.   
"Oh, Ron...you know I'd like to...but this chapter's really intriguing and I want to read more about it...." said Hermione apologetically, while she tucked her long brown hair behind her ear.   
"Are you sure?" said Ron, standing up decisively and walking over to his bag to retrieve his wizard chess set.   
"Yes, I'm sure Ron," replied Hermione.   
"But, chess is intriguing too, Hermione," continued Ron, grabbing Hermione's book and putting it behind him as he sat down beside her.   
"Ron, my book...." whined Hermione, stretching out her arms in an attempt to reclaim her beloved book.   
"No," said Ron firmly, though he was obviously enjoying all this, "No reading for you, young lady, not until you have a game of chess with me."   
Hermione pouted in her seat, resigned to the fact that she was probably going to spend the rest of the train ride playing (and losing), wizard chess with Ron.   
"What's the point of playing chess with you, if we both know you're just going to beat me...." sulked Hermione, picking up and examining her snoozing king.   
Ron stopped, and put down his violently thrashing knight on the board, and looked at Hermione, straight in the eye.   
"Actually, it's not that I want to play just to win over you, you know...." said Ron, " I just wanted to talk to you...while we played...."   
Hermione felt her face grow warm all over for some reason, and she involuntarily knocked over four or five of her pawns, causing them to glower up at her. But Ron didn't notice, and went on speaking, while he poked his bishop into place.   
"Ginny's probably introducing Harry to her friends, so I don't think they'll be back anytime soon, and I figured I should just quit my moping and do something...And well, you know how lonely doing stuff alone can be...."   
"So you decided to have a game of chess with me, just so that you wouldn't be lonely...." said Hermione sighing, "Sometimes Ron, you act like a child."  
Ron grinned playfully, and Hermione returned the grin. The two silently went on with their game for a few minutes, when Ron's violent knight made a sudden mad swipe at Hermione's finger with his miniature broadsword. Hermione let out a yelp of pain, and pulled her hand away from the board.   
"Are you all right?" asked Ron, snatching up the knight and throwing him back in his bag, disgustedly.   
The wild knight's broad sword, small as it was, was still dangerously sharp, causing a cut to bleed crimson on Hermione's fore finger.  
"Are you all right?" repeated Ron pushing away the chess board, to sit closer to Hermione.   
"Yes, well, it's just a cut," said Hermione, fishing around in her pocket for a handkerchief.   
"Oh, well, let me see," said Ron, pulling Hermione's hand towards him and rubbing away the dripping blood with his thumb.   
Hermione blushed, once again, as she felt Ron caress her hand carefully.   
"I'm sorry about that...I think it's time I get a new set. But at least he didn't cut off your finger...I wouldn't know what to do if he did, and Harry and Ginny would probably never forgive me if that happened...."   
Ron said all of this very fast, and Hermione tried to stifle a laugh as she watched Ron display his frantic concern for her. Just then, Harry and Ginny entered the compartment, carrying two bags filled with all sorts of sweets.   
"What happened?" asked Ginny, looking back and forth at Ron and Hermione.   
Ron let go of Hermione's hand at once and stood up quickly. Unfortunately, Ron didn't notice the luggage compartment over his head and banged his head on it with a loud BONK.   
"What's going on here?" asked Harry, walking up to Hermione and examining the cut on her finger.   
Hermione hurriedly explained to Harry and Ginny all about the mad knight, and Ginny scolded Ron in a voice very reminiscent of Mrs. Weasley.   
"I told you to throw away that knight already...now looked what it did!" said Ginny exasperatedly, while Ron sat down again, rubbing his throbbing head.  
"Calm down, will you," said Ron, peevishly, "It's not my fault the thing decided to go berserk on Hermione...but then, that doesn't really matter, because I wouldn't let anything happen to--"   
Ron stopped abruptly as though he had just realized what he was going to say,   
"--Er, well you know what I mean...."   
Harry turned to Ginny and grinned, while Hermione stared at Ron.   
"Oh look, we're almost there...." remarked Harry looking out at the nearing Hogsmeade station, from the corner of the window.   
"Yes. Well, Ginny and I'll leave you two to change...Come on, Ginny," said Hermione.  
Hermione and Ginny slid the door of the compartment open and left the boys to change.   
"You two seemed to be getting along really fine...." said Harry slyly.   
"Yeah...."   
"So, what really happened?" asked Harry amused.   
"Nothing. Like, I said, we were having a game, and my knight chucked a psycho and cut her finger."   
"And don't tell me you didn't enjoy being alone with her...." said Harry laughing.   
"Oh shut up, Harry," said Ron, throwing Harry his jacket.   
"Are you two done yet?" came a voice from outside.   
"Yeah, in a minute," answered Harry, pulling off Ron's jacket from his face, "Just as soon as Ron's done mooning over--WHOA, OOMPH!"   
"Yeah, we're done." said Ron.   
Hermione and Ginny entered the room and immediately noticed that Harry was nowhere to be seen.   
"Ron, where's Harry?" asked Hermione looking around.   
"He's busy right now...." replied Ron, trying to suppress a grin.   
"No, I mean it! Where is Harry?" said Hermione once more.   
"Fine...." said Ron, giving in.   
Ron pointed upwards with his wand and together Hermione and Ginny gasped in surprise as they saw Harry plastered to the ceiling with a wad of cloth stuffed in his mouth.   
"Mmph, mm...umph...." squeaked Harry from above them.   
"Harry!" gasped Ginny.   
"Ron, get him down right now!" said Hermione.   
"Yeah, all right. Levitium!" grumbled Ron, and Harry fell face down on to the floor with a thud.   
"Ow...." muttered Harry feeling his nose.   
"Honestly, sometimes you two can be just as bad as Fred and George!" said Hermione tartly.   
"He started it...." snorted Ron heaving his trunk.   
"Me? I wasn't doing anything! You just thought it'd be great fun to zap me up to the ceiling!" countered Harry, picking himself up.   
"Ooh, we better hurry up. Everybody's going down," said Ginny peeking out of the door.   
Harry picked up Hedwig's cage and began to drag out his own trunk after Ginny, occasionally grumbling things like,   
"Stupid Levitium hex...and what kind of ceiling was that? Granite?"   
Ron and Hermione followed suit.   
"Really, what were you thinking? What if that hex malfunctioned? Harry would then be a permanent fixture on the ceiling!" said Hermione pulling her trunk down the corridor.   
"Well, wouldn't that be helpful? Then we wouldn't have to worry about finding empty compartments each time we ride the train...he could just scare everyone away for us."   
Hermione let out an irritated grunt and rolled her eyes. Soon the four students found themselves standing in the familiar Hogsmeade station, with the baby blue sky spreading itself infinitely above them. And off at the end of a long winding dirt road, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny saw one of the many towers of the magical school awaiting them.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
Disclaimer: Nope, none of them are mine.  
A/N: Pretty sweet huh? Yeah, I told you I'd try and make this part a little bit more lighter, than the one's before... :)  
Oh, and I'm planning on writing a Christmas special sometime soon, I hope you guys read it when I get it up.  
Anyway, it's 5 days before Christmas people! (which explains why I'm rather hyper..) so let's all put a nice big grin on our faces and clear our throats to sing....  
"--Deck the halls with boughs of holly! Falalalalalala,"   
Yeah!! Lounder, people, louder! And all together now!  
"Tralalalalalalalalala!!" 


End file.
